First Class Dog
by Green Bunny
Summary: Inu Yasha can't sit around in the Warring States Period while Kagome is on an amazing all-expenses paid trip to the city! So, off he goes, with or without Kagome's approval. Complete!
1. Finding Kagome

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Disclaimer!

Nana Nana

Boo Boo!

I don't own Inu Yasha

And neither do you! (Unless you're Rumiko Takahashi)

**Updated Author's Note (July 16, 2010): I began this story when I was just sixteen years old. Can you believe that? Well, when I started posting my stories again I promised that I would go back and clean up my old stories when I felt up to it. Right now, I feel like doing just that. Mostly that means some spelling/grammar errors will be corrected but I'll also be taking a look at my reviews, too, and make sure I fix any major plot holes. The bulk of this story will remain unchanged, though, so keep that in mind. Hopefully, my fixes will make for a better read. Don't forget to review and let me know if you find any more errors. Thank you so much for reading!**

-Green Bunny

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First Class Dog

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"I'm going whether you like it or not InuYasha!" Kagome attempted to swerve past him on her way to the Bone Eaters Well. The angry half-youkai tried to block her way for the trillionth time that day.

"You can't go, wench! Not for three weeks! That's too long!"

Kagome regarded him with an icy blue stare, and InuYasha cringed with the realization that she was very close to saying the S-word. He thanked his lucky stars when she walked right past him and kept going instead. Sputtering, the dog demon whirled around and stalked after her, but this time stayed a safe distance behind her. After fifteen minutes of silent steps and the occasional irritated grumble from Kagome, InuYasha hazarded a question…one he felt was safe asking.

"So… Where are you going?"

The miko could tell by his tone that he was afraid he might get sat. Her resolve melted a little, then hardened again. This was the same guy that barged into her house and dragged her back to the well every time he got the slightest bit antsy for a shard. No regard to her homework or anything! He'd just grab her and bring her back to find demons and Kikyo and all sorts of scary things just for the sake of a piece of a tiny jewel… That she accidentally broke and scattered all over to be picked up by all the creepy demons that he protected her from. Uh oh… Her resolve was starting to fade again and if he gave her that sad puppy dog look before she got to the well… Or he asked her to stay (not in his usual gruff tone, but the one he used the last time she left for the modern world) she might not be able to say no.

"Oh no you don't. I'm not falling for that trick. You'll just end up following me. It's far away. That's all I'm telling you."

"Kagome…"

Uh oh… His voice had become softer. She could sit him but couldn't bring herself to say it when all he was doing was unknowingly pulling her heartstrings. _Almost there, Kagome! See? There's the well! … Just ignore his voice and you're free! He'll never be able to find you so far away._ Somehow that last thought pained her. She picked up her pace anyways. The faster she walked, the less she had to talk and the less it'd hurt to leave him. Inu Yasha had stopped walking and Kagome nearly tripped over the well because she was so lost in her thoughts. The dog demon dropped the miko's oversized, overloaded backpack to the ground and waited for the inevitable. If he tried to stop her, she'd sit him and leave. If he didn't, she would simply leave him without bruises. He chose the latter. Then another thought came to him, and he grinned inwardly.

Kagome turned towards InuYasha while she spoke. "I'm going and there's no way you can stop—"

The dog-demon was gone. Leaving for two weeks must have been too hard on him. With a soft sigh the miko picked up her oversized backpack and hopped into the well

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"You have everything right? Talked to what's-his-face and the rest of his friends?"

Kagome gave an exasperated sigh before she responded to her mother. "First of all his name is InuYasha, and yes I have everything. I'm all set." Kagome smiled.

Mrs. Higurashi still looked agitated "You know I'd walk you to the train station if grandpa and Sota weren't down with the flu…"

"Yes mom I know, but don't worry about it. I'll be fine, you're just paranoid." Kagome glanced at her watch "Ack! I have to go before I miss the train. I'll call you as soon as I get to the hotel, okay? Bye!" Her last words were flung over her shoulder as she raced for the train station. Mrs. Higurashi was so busy waving goodbye to her daughter that she never saw the white streak that moved from the well to the trees lining the sidewalk.

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"Ahh! I'm gonna be late!" The priestess huffed as she dodged people and other assorted objects in her attempt to make it to the train station on time. Moments later she was skipping up the steps to the train platform, nearly tripping a few times. In her haste she never noticed the demon presence following her. Finally, the miko came to a halt, puffing and wheezing, bent slightly with her hands on her knees. A man with a clipboard looked down at her. "Higurashi Kagome?" Kagome nodded between gulps of air. "That's… Me…"

The man smiled, marked something on his clipboard, clicked the pen shut, and pushed it behind his ear. "Good, then we're all set."

After a few minutes the girl had relaxed and regained her breath, she noticed that the clipboard-guy seemed to be looking for someone or something behind her.

Kagome eyed him for a moment, straightening up. _What's his problem? I'm here aren't I?_ It was then that she felt a familiar presence "InuYasha!" There was a rustle from a nearby bush, then in a tree. Kagome realized she had spoken her thoughts aloud but didn't care at that point. "INUYASHA! SIT!"

WHAM!

The startled clipboard guy jumped when a large red and white meteor fell from a nearby tree at Kagome's feet.

Inu Yasha muttered " Wench…"

Immediately the miko exploded into a rage. By the time she was finished yelling at him she was panting for breath.

"…And don't EVER do that again!"

Inu Yasha was up by then, and arguing just as fiercely about safety and responsibility and other such things. The clipboard-guy stared at the two, then his attentions shifted focus to a man in a cheap Italian suit making his way towards the twenty-five couples crowded on the platform. Cheap-suit-guy nodded to the clipboard guy. The doors to the waiting train suddenly opened and fifty people were ushered in. It was Inu Yasha's first look at a train.

"Demon!" The half-youkai immediately stood in front of Kagome, hand ready to whip out the Tetsusaiga any second. Kagome giggled.

"Silly, that's a train…it takes you to places so we don't have to walk."

Inu Yasha eyed the demon train, and then turned his gaze to the miko. She had never been wrong before…nor had she ever lied to him. Slowly, he relaxed and let his hand slip away from Tetsusaiga's hilt. Just then the cheap suit guy came up to them and rushed the two through the double train doors.

"Oh you must be Miss Higurashi's date! Welcome! Hey, what's with the funky get up? Are you into kabuki or are you some kind of actor?"

Inu Yasha spluttered, and Kagome blushed. Luckily though, Kagome regained her composure first.

"Uh… Yeah that's right. He's an actor. But he's still very new to show biz so you've probably never seen any of his movies."

For some odd reason the man didn't look surprised and actually accepted it without question. "Oh that's great!" And with that, he was off chattering to other people in the train car.

"Whew!" Kagome said and settled down on a cushy seat. Just as Inu Yasha got over his shock and was about to protest the clipboard guy clapped his hands for attention. The loud chattering in the packed car died down. He cleared his throat once and spoke.

"As all of you know, you have been chosen to go on this all-expenses-paid trip by Tele Com. Corporation. You will stay at the luxurious Baines Hotel and will be given this card," He paused and held up 25 gold cards that looked like credit cards, "And with it you can buy whatever and go wherever you want free of charge, as long as you stay in the city. The only limit on the card is that it expires after your two weeks are up. In which case you will return to your homes by train, also free of charge. You all have come with a date as asked in the letter, correct?" There were nods from everyone present… Except for Kagome and Inu Yasha who just gaped. Clipboard-guy nodded. "Good. Well everyone, this is a twenty-four hour trip. Each couple has their own luxury car. One of you has the key to that car I hope." He looked around. Everyone nodded again, this time including Kagome. "Great! Then you all have a nice time and there will be a semi-formal dinner at eight. Hope to see you there." And with that, he turned on his heel, and was gone. Everyone else dispersed to his or her quarters.

The second Kagome and Inu Yasha were alone the dog demon turned to her angrily.

"You didn't tell me this was a _date_ sort of trip!"

Kagome, sounding just as surprised as he did, responded. "I didn't know! My friends signed me up for this! Not me!"

That let most of the air out of his tirade, with a "harrumph" he stomped towards the nearest train window, but was having difficulty opening it. "Erg, hey! Why wont this open? Gah! The snake is moving! It's probably taking us to its lair… I'll stop it!" Forgetting what Kagome had said about the train, the dog-demon reached for the Tetsusaiga again but this time Kagome thought ahead.

"SIT!"

WHAM!

The train lurched slightly from the sudden impact InuYasha had made to the floor. The girl knelt next to his prone form as he uttered a long string of dark curses into the carpet. He knew full well that she couldn't understand any of it because his face was mashed so hard into the floor, if she had heard him she would have sat him many more times. The one white pointed ear nearest her turned in her direction as she spoke softly, laced with a quiet, cold anger that made him shiver. "If I wasn't afraid that someone would see us like this I'd sit you again. Now, I've already told you once that the train is not a demon. It's a mode of transportation… Kind of like a… a…" The miko paused as she tried to think of a good analogy that her demon friend could relate to. " …Like a wagon that doesn't need horses or people to pull it." InuYasha seemed to take the idea into consideration so she took the opportunity to add on "…And ours is kind of like a fancy moving house. It's a long trip so we have to sleep in this place."

The half demon was up on his haunches now, still grumpy about the sit but now curious about the magic moving house. Once Kagome knew the boy's curiosity was piqued she used it to her advantage.

"If you want to stay and check this place out… get some food…" She watched his pointed ears perk up at the mention of getting some grub; he was starved after he had used all his energy following after Kagome without her noticing his presence. "…Then you'll have to follow a few little rules. Come on… let's go to the room and talk there."

Inu Yasha nodded and stood up, he'd do just about anything if it meant getting some food. The two headed off to the room prepared for them.

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	2. Before The Dinner Bell

**Author's Notes (July 16, 2010): This chapter is updated with spelling/grammar fixes. The plot should remain relatively unaltered.**

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Inu Yasha had some difficulty getting used to the constant rocking motion of the train. His pointed ears turned in random directions, picking up any and every sound within the silver demon. He was almost positive that the creaking clicking thing Kagome had named "Train" was evil. The dog demon paced the room as he thought to himself. Perhaps if he stabbed it with the Tetsusaiga then it would become angry and fight back—

A pile of clothes hit his head, discontinuing any further thoughts. Inu Yasha whipped them off his head.

"What was that for, wench?"

Kagome shot him an angry glare from over her shoulder before she returned to shifting through her suitcase. She spoke without looking at him.

"Put those on. You're lucky my mother had the common sense to think you'd follow me. She packed you some clothes. There isn't enough in here to last for three weeks so I'll have to go out and get you some more."

The half demon eyed the clothes; blue jeans and a red t-shirt with a blue stripe running across the middle. Where were the ties? How was he supposed to carry around his sword? To him it didn't look like the loop things around the edges of the pants could possibly hold his precious Tetsusaiga. He growled and crossed his arms over his chest. Kagome seemed to sense that he wasn't getting dressed and turned around.

"If you don't get dressed you can't go with me to dinner."

"I don't need to change to eat!"

Kagome walked over to the pile of clothes and inspected them with her toe.

"Oh I see, you don't know how to change into those clothes so you don't want to. I understand. Your secret is safe with me."

Inu Yasha took the bait almost too easily.

"What? Of course I can!"

The angry youkai grabbed the clothes from off the floor and quickly began to disrobe. How dare she imply that a demon couldn't do such a menial task as putting on human clothes? Kagome had turned around again. Ha. He'd show her who was the one in charge!

Kagome stood there, smiling. Sometimes she was actually glad for his ridiculous sense of pride. He had fallen for it so easily. The miko didn't want to risk asking him if he was done yet. She was afraid he might figure out what she had been up to.

A hand clamped down on her shoulder and she was pulled roughly around.

"See! I can do it!"

Kagome looked him over with a critical eye. Inu Yasha actually felt a little embarrassed under her gaze. Wasn't he okay yet? Kagome had never bothered him about his looks at all. Now that he thought of it, she was the only person who never cared what he wanted to do with the jewel once it was completed. She just assumed he would decide. Everyone else wanted to make his decision for him. To be a human or a full demon… Yet Kagome never told him to be anything, just himself… Kagome interrupted his thoughts with her own musings.

"We need to hide your ears…"

The half-demon watched her turn and rifle through her suitcase again, she gave a little excited cry as she pulled out something red.

"Here we go!"

She plopped the red thing on his head, the youkai could feel his ears press against his scalp rather uncomfortably. He reached up to touch his covered head. Kagome batted his hand away.

"Leave it be, it's a cap, it looks good on you."

Inu Yasha stared at the miko. Had she just said he looked good? Perhaps she was ill… She wouldn't have gone on a vacation if she were sick, though… He mentally chastised himself. Why was he bothering about her? Wasn't he supposed to be in love with Kikyo? Wait a minute… Where had that thought come from?

He would have to deal with the problem later; Kagome had already begun to head out the door. She paused in the entrance way.

"You coming to eat or not?"

"Feh. Whatever, you have to move away from the doorway first."

Kagome huffed and stalked out of the hallway. She didn't get too far before colliding with a rather well-toned body. With a yelp of surprise, the miko fell backwards. Almost instinctively, she knew she would be caught. The half demon's claw-like hands appeared and looped under her arms, catching her before she hit the floor. In seconds, she was back on her feet again. Kagome smiled, rather embarrassed, up into Inu Yasha's face.

"Thanks Inu-"

"Oh miss I'm so sorry!"

The boy she had run into began to shake her hand furiously. He looked a bit like Hojo. He had the same hair cut and build, except he was much more fair- haired, almost a platinum blonde, with very bright blue eyes. The guy kept pumping her hand, while Inu Yasha just stared blankly.

"I can't apologize enough! I am so clumsy! Are you hurt? Of course not, this man helped you didn't he? Oh I'm so glad I didn't ruin that pretty face of yours…"

He reached out and stroked her right cheek, tracing her jaw line with his thumb. For some reason, Kagome didn't like his words or his touch. Though she should have been flattered, she just stood there, dumbstruck.

Inu Yasha was not so quiet, he gave a low, angry growl akin to what a wolf might make. The sound snapped Kagome out of her surprised haze; she quickly elbowed the youkai to make him stop growling. It felt like her elbow had hit a softer version of a brick wall. Inu Yasha didn't seem at all physically affected by it but he did quiet down. The fair-haired boy chuckled.

"Oh I'm sorry I didn't know she was already taken."

"How could you not you-"

Kagome elbowed Inu Yasha once again, shooting him a don't-make-me-say-sit look. She smiled to the boy and gave a curt bow.

"Sorry but we're uh…we're…"

"Shiro dear! There you are!"

A girl who looked as young as the other three appeared. She looked like the boy's twin, with long, almost platinum blonde hair and blue eyes. But while Shiro's eyes were a very light icy shade of blue hers were darker, almost blue-black. Kagome didn't like her at all.

"Ikume-chan, this is… uhm… what's your name, miss?"

"Higurashi Kagome."

"Kagome-chan"

Inu Yasha snorted. What gave him the right to call her chan? Love was a big deal and he was treating it as a normal ending to a name! Kagome-love. Feh.

"Right. I ran into her and was just apologizing."

Ikume shrugged, she didn't seem to care at all that she had seen him caress her face. Weirdly enough, she was checking out Inu Yasha. What kind of a couple was this anyway?

"And who is this young man?"

Her voice sounded… Seductive… Kagome didn't like it. The miko was wondering the same thing InuYasha was. Weren't they supposed to be a couple? Well, technically the priestess and youkai weren't a couple but, they kind of liked each other, didn't they? Ikume and Shiro didn't seem to like each other in that way in the least.

"Well?"

Ikume tapped her foot impatiently, though she had a pleasant smile plastered on her face. Kagome shook her head a bit to clear her mind of thoughts.

"Oh… This is InuYasha we're uh…uhm…"

"Oh you must be here for that trip thing going on…"

Ikume motioned to her surroundings, the elaborately decorated fancy, hotel-like appearance, the rooms made exclusively for prize-winning couples. InuYasha snorted again.

"Like you two aren't." He added irritably.

The fair-haired couple laughed. Ikume wiped invisible tears of merriment from her eyes.

"Oh dear, well you could say that but our parents are the ones who finance this little trip."

Inu Yasha looked like he was about to say more. Kagome noted from the look on his face that it would be anything but polite. The half demon never got the chance, for at that moment a loud speaker hanging on one corner chirped out crisply that dinner was being served. All the doors to the guest rooms opened at once and couples filed through the hallway towards the dining car. At some point Shiro and Ikume disappeared into the throng of people. Kagome and Inu Yasha looked at each other, shrugged and followed the last remaining people from car to car towards the dining car.

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	3. Escaping Ikume

**Author's Notes (July 16, 2010): Updated with spelling/grammar fixes.**

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InuYasha was close to going crazy. He could smell food, and Kagome would not let him plow through all the people in front of him to get to it! He thought it wasn't fair. All those humans could get to the food before he did! Even half demons eat more than humans do it should be his right to get food ahead of the rest of them. InuYasha noted that the people at the front of the crowd were waiting. After a while a man in what Kagome called a "suit" would seat a couple at a table, soon it was their turn to go.

"Smoking or Non?"

The half demon had to wonder if they set people on fire. But he reasoned that things were different in Kagome's world so perhaps it meant something else. He also told himself that if anyone tried to do that to him or Kagome that he would shred that person in a second.

"Non." She said.

The second the two had been seated and provided menus a high-pitched squeal rang out from the other side of the room. Even under the hat InuYasha pinned his ears down to his skull. Both he and Kagome recognized from whom the voice had come.

"Oh InuYasha-chan!"

InuYasha tried to hide his head behind the menu, across from him; Kagome was slouching and hiding behind her menu. Neither wanted the noisy blonde's attention, nor did they want to bring attention to themselves. Ikume waved her hand frantically at them, almost begging them to come over to their table. Kagome had to kick Inu Yasha from growling back at Ikume. The cranky half demon glared at the super-spastic blonde. From across the room Shiro gave an embarrassed shrug and waved his companion to settle down. Ikume pouted at Shiro but complied and sat back down.

Both Kagome and Inu Yasha gave a short relieved sigh and rubbed their ears a little to clear out the ringing sounds in them. The miko blushed as the entire restaurant stared either at them or Ikume and Shiro, just as she thought her embarrassment could never end the eyes turned back to their food and there was no further problems for the rest of dinner.

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However, after dinner was an entirely different story. Ikume and Shiro met up with InuYasha and Kagome just as they were about to enter their room. InuYasha had just started to feel like they were home free when he heard Ikume's high squeaky voice.

"Oh Inu-chan! There you are lovey!"

His ears immediately flattened under the baseball cap and muttered, "Oh god's kill me now." under his breath. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Kagome pinch the spot high up on the bridge of her nose. She had told him once that she did it when she was close to getting a headache. Only now did he understand why. He could feel the pressure build just behind his forehead as his unwilling ears picked up Ikume's irritating voice.

"Kagome, unlock the door. Quickly, before she gets here. Please! Hurry!"

InuYasha's urgent whisper surprised her and she almost dropped they keycard to the door. InuYasha? Begging?

"Come on! Hurry! She's coming!"

He almost whimpered. If he had to listen to that crazy girl all night his ears would fall off! Kagome fumbled with the card for a moment, swiped it wrong the first time, and then a second time, finally, just as Ikume was getting close to them she managed to swipe it right and open the door. In his rush to get inside InuYasha forgot that Kagome was standing in front of the door and tripped over her, sending them both tumbling into their room. The youkai shifted over Kagome and managed to kick the door closed just as Ikume stepped up to it.

InuYasha grinned in triumph when he heard the door thud into something that was most likely her face. His happy grin quickly changed to a look of shock when he realized he hadn't landed on the floor.

"Get… off… me." Kagome groaned beneath him.

The half demon scrambled to get off of Kagome, but in his shock and haste he stood too soon, and got his feet tangled in her legs. The unfortunate dog-demon yelped as he crashed to the floor a second time. Fortunately, he didn't land directly on Kagome the second time. She might have sat him if he had. Kagome lifted herself from the mess of tangled limbs and pressed a hand to his chest so that he couldn't sit back up. Her voice held that scary wavering tone to it that threatened to break into an all out scream if he didn't behave himself.

"If you hadn't pushed me for a good reason I would have said the s-word by now. I hope you know that. But I'm glad you warned me."

Kagome shuddered. She really didn't like Ikume at all. The miko couldn't place what exactly turned her off to the girl's charms but something just didn't feel right with her. It made Kagome feel apprehensive… InuYasha interrupted her thoughts gruffly. He truly didn't want to anger her but he wanted to at least find something soft to land on if she did sit him.

"Can I get up now?"

He curled his clawed fingers around her wrist to move it away from his chest. Kagome looked down at that moment. There was a long silence, then something clicked in Kagome's head and she blushed, yanking her hand away from his grasp quickly.

"Er… Uhm… There you go." She muttered quickly and stood, walked over to one of the window seats in the room, and sat down. Her small hands moved to her burning cheeks, hoping to rub some of the red out of them.

InuYasha could never understand girls. One second they were raging the next they were embarrassed. Perhaps it was the reason why he had so many problems in the present with women. First (and still) Kikyou, and now Kagome. He stood and watched her rub her cheeks, then yawn. Golden eyes turned to the window, checking the time by the height of the moon. It was late, possibly 11:00 or so.

Kagome's head drooped and clunked against the window. She twitched but didn't move after that. All he could think about was how in a matter of minutes she'd managed to get angry, embarrassed, and fall asleep all at once. He smiled. That was the way Kagome was, so full of energy and life. Kikyou had never been energetic like that. Sure, she hadn't been so much of a hassle when she was mad but now, Kikyou was an angry walking corpse. That was worse.

Kagome had begun to slide down and InuYasha rushed to catch her before she hit the floor. She made a noise when she plopped into his arms and he rolled his golden eyes. She would have died long before if he hadn't been around. That was for sure. Kikyou would have been able to save herself. He admitted, though, that he liked being in charge (even though that was only when he was fighting and sometimes not even then). The dog demon grunted and set Kagome on the bed, then sat in a nearby chair and settled down.

Having nothing better to do he just watched the sleeping girl. He could smell her scent from there. It was a nice scent, though he only told her that once. It made him drowsy and peaceful and before hanyou had known what hit him he was asleep. The silent train full of sleeping occupants rolled on.


	4. Sleep and Wakefulness

For once, InuYasha was not the first one up. Stormy blue pools opened to greet the unfamiliar white of the train's ceiling. Kagome yawned and rubbed her eyes, then pushed herself up in bed. Funny, she thought she had been resting in the chair the night before, yet here she found herself in bed. InuYasha occupied the spot she had fallen asleep in previously. Had he carried her to the bed? No, InuYasha wasn't that sweet. Or was he? Her eyes locked on the sleeping half-demon. He sat slouched in the chair, head to one side propped up on a clawed fist. She could just make out the slow rise and fall of his chest through his t-shirt. Now that he was sleeping, and not glaring or snapping at her for staring, Kagome was able to get a good look at him. His face held a peaceful look, almost child-like, but there was a hint of sadness to the quirk of his lips. Unconsciously, she reached out to trace his lips, close up and sleeping he wasn't so bad looking… and his skin looked so soft without the lines of macho attitude that was so commonly placed there. She just had to know if-

*WHAM!*

"Good morning!"

Ikume's shrill; sing-song voice was an instantaneous headache in InuYasha's sensitive ears. He woke with a start, blinking and spluttering as if he'd been doused in cold water. All of his peripheral vision was taken up by Kagome's surprised face, her fingers mere inches from his lips. She looked lost and confused for the briefest of moments, caught between trying to explain herself to InuYasha, or reacting to Ikume's sudden intrusion. Ikume made up her mind for her.

"Ooh… what were you doing there, Kagome-chan?"

The corner of Kagome's eye twitched. Chan? Since when were they even close to being friends? Her irritation quickly changed to embarrassment as she found both Ikume's green eyes and InuYasha's gold eyes staring her down.

"I-ah… was just going to wake him up… but you seem to have taken care of that for me."

She glared at Ikume and tramped off to her luggage case, opened it, and began sorting through it for a fresh change of clothes. Ikume's eyes showed a flash of irritation; how dare she lie to her!

InuYasha watched the silent exchange with some amount of confusion. He had awakened to see Kagome so close, and then suddenly there was Ikume. He thought about her excuse, shrugged inwardly and took it as the truth. He growled at the demon, yes, she felt like a demon to him. Just as annoying anyway.

"Well do you have anything else to say? If not then get out. You've done your part. We're awake." He grumbled.

Ikume's lips twitched, and he noted out of the corner of his eye the slight, satisfied smirk on spreading on Kagome's lips, though he could tell she was trying to keep a neutral expression.

"Well… I was just going to tell you that breakfast is ready… by lunch we should make it to our destination. I'll leave you to get ready then."

Ikume left in a rush, turning in the hallway toward her own quarters. Kagome angrily threw a blouse at the closed door.

"She irritates me so much!"

InuYasha nodded in agreement. Watching her throw a sundress at the door as well. She plodded over to the door and picked up the blouse and tossed it back into her suitcase. She looked down at the sundress a moment, then picked it up and walked into the bathroom.

With the door closed she was able to relax a little and reorder her thoughts. So, InuYasha would be coming with her? Okay, fine. She could live with that, but she'd have to get him some decent clothes. Thank goodness Kagome had that credit card. She'd put it to good use. Pulling off her old clothes she climbed into the pink and white flowered dress and fumbled to zip it up in the back. There was no way she'd have InuYasha do it. Once she finally managed to zip up her dress she brushed her hair and teeth, opened the door, and walked out of the bathroom.

"All right then, lets go eat." She began, then eyed him thoughtfully. "You'll have to wear those clothes until I can buy you some more… so don't go tearing them to pieces."

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Breakfast turned out to be the most painless experience of their trip. The wary travelers ate quickly and made sure to dine in the furthest corner of the dinner car. To InuYasha's keen eyes, Ikume looked sullen and did not touch her food. Kagome surmised that Shiro had spoken with her after last night's fiasco. Perhaps they would be left alone for the remainder of the trip? Kagome wasn't confident they would.

The end of breakfast brought with it end of their trip. Everyone returned to their rooms and packed up their things. InuYasha skulked about while Kagome rushed around making sure she wouldn't leave anything behind.

"Ready to go, InuYasha?"

"I'm ready to get off this monster."

"It's not a-…"

The train shuddered to a stop and for a brief moment Kagome had to steady herself by placing her hand on a wall. InuYasha seemed unfazed. The train doors opened and everyone moved out into the hallway to leave the train. The half-demon absently grabbed Kagome's suitcase and walked out. He'd gotten so used to carrying her junk that even though the place he was in was entirely foreign to him he still instinctively tried to help her. Finally, the two stepped off the train and into the station. InuYasha gave one last glare to the evil youkai that had brought them before it rolled away from the station and into the sunlight.


	5. Shopping

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Edited: May 28, 2011. I still don't own InuYasha.

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At the station a man in a suit called over the guests, Shiro and Ikume were standing with him. Kagome and InuYasha hung out at the back of the crowd, praying that the two would not see them. The man cleared his throat.

"Ahem. Welcome, guests! The Baines family invites you all to a day of shopping and merriment. As you exit the station you will see three limousines waiting to take you to the shopping district, have lunch, be merry and then at six you will be picked up at the same location you were dropped off for dinner at eight at the hotel. Again, we thank you all for joining us. Please exit on the left, your chauffeurs will let you know which limo is yours."

Everyone quickly headed for the exits and the dog-demon and his miko moved to towards the center of the crowd to avoid having to talk to the siblings. They, however, had already vanished. The couples, all young people in their late teens and early twenties, were ushered into their respective vehicles, eight to a limo. Kagome had to have yet another terse argument with InuYasha about how the evil black growling demon was not, in fact, a demon but rather another transportation device to get them to their next destination. Threats of "sit" finally got him to enter the vehicle. The stretch limos could fit the eight couples but they were forced to sit very close to one another. InuYasha was not terribly thrilled to discover that a few of the chattering women were wearing a substantial amount of perfume. It made his head spin a little and the sickly feeling it gave him caused him to completely ignore how close Kagome had to sit next to him. Finally, the chauffeur closed the door and moments later the car began to move.

The sudden movement caused Kagome's shoulder to bump the grumpy half-demon's arm and suddenly he was aware of how close he was to her. He tensed, assuming that she would get angry and sit him, but she remained there. Her close proximity cause him to pick up her scent and he relaxed a little, focusing on it to take his attention away from the gods-awful perfume smells. He turned his face towards her hair instinctively to draw in more of her scent and gradually, carefully, his golden orbs followed her hair down to her face. To his surprise she was staring intently at her hands, curled into her sundress and her cheeks were the faintest shade of pink. One of the girls sitting across from her saw Kagome's nervousness and laughed.

"Oh don't be shy. Put your arm around her. We're all couples here!"

InuYasha was stunned, looking from the girl to Kagome, then back to the girl, then to Kagome again. He began to stutter.

"N-now wait—"

The miko cut him off, suddenly she was smiling at the girl and making some sort of excuse, albeit nervously. She leaned her head back against his shoulder, turning her head towards his neck. His heart thumped in his chest. He could feel her breath near his ear, realizing then that she was speaking to him very quietly.

"Just put your arm around me, they'll ignore you if you do. Trust me."

The dog demon flushed and did as instructed. Somewhere in the back of his mind he felt that he would get sat if he didn't and he was too stunned to really think much about it. Quickly, his arm snaked around her shoulders, his heart still hammering. The annoying girl talked again.

"Aw! So cute! That's better!"

He wondered if this meant that he could move his arm away, he shifted to take it back but felt cool fingers on his claws. Kagome spoke into his neck again, sending a shiver up his spine.

"Just keep it there until we get to our stop. Do you want them to ask you more questions? I'm going to pretend to sleep, that way they won't talk."

He didn't reply but relaxed his arm. Though he hated to admit it, she was right, he did not want to talk to talk to any of those idiots and, much as he hated to admit it, he did not mind his position all that much. In fact, it sounded like a good idea to feign sleep, too. He closed his eyes but kept his ears perked for trouble from beneath his baseball cap.

0

Fifteen minutes later the limo came to a stop. Kagome stirred and stretched, feigning a yawn.

"Oh, that was a nice nap!"

The dog-demon jumped and brought his arm back to his lap. Everyone piled out of the limo and into the shopping district. InuYasha was not prepared for the sight. People were everywhere talking loudly to one another; he could smell thousands of different scents. He gaped at the buildings stretching out into the sky. He was convinced they would topple over from their sheer weight. The materials of the buildings were things he had never seen before. There were no paper walls or doors to be seen anywhere and the noise was deafening! He was suddenly grateful for the cap; the sound dampened some of the noise, though it only provided the slightest relief.

Kagome stared at the dog-demon. She had never seen him so dumb-struck. It didn't take much thought to realize that it had everything to do with what he was being exposed to. She quickly grabbed his hand and dragged him towards a men's clothing store.

"Come on now. It's time to get you some clothes."

"Kagome, what is that, and that, and that!"

He pointed towards several contraptions, cars, a gumball machine, a vending machine, and a mailbox. Kagome just shook her head and tugged on his hand.

"Come on! I'll explain it all to you later. You have got to get some clothes first. You've been wearing those for far too long."

"What? It's only been a day."

He lifted the collar of his shirt and sniffed it. It smelled fine to him. Kagome huffed and tugged harder.

"In my time that's one day too long. We've got to go now, InuYasha! Things work differently here."

She tried desperately to think of a good reason to convince the half-demon to move, finally, it dawned on her.

"People will ask questions. If you get sent back then-then… uh… Shiro will have to be my date. That's how things work here."

That got him moving. There was no way in hell that he would let some idiot do whatever it was that a stupid human like him would do to HIS Kagome! If he did…well… he'd give Shiro a sound bearing, that was for damn sure. It occurred to him just then that it would be easier to beat the man (if he did do something foolish) if he didn't get kicked out.

"All right, all right, damn it! Just do whatever it is you have to do."

The miko dragged the hanyou into the store. He was immediately relieved to learn that the overwhelming sounds outside did not extend inside the store. An obnoxious man who reeked of female perfume. Whatever it was, it made him sick and dizzy all over again. Kagome sensed he was in trouble and stepped between the clerk and the dog-demon.

"Ah! Yes. My… friend… here is from out of town and the airport lost his luggage! He needs clothes for the next three weeks and he can't remember his size."

The clerk assessed him for a moment then rushed off, gathering clothes from all over the store over the span of several minutes. The clerk then hustled the confused and still dizzy dog-demon into a changing room. Kagome had explained the purpose of this room and InuYasha had little trouble getting into a new pair of jeans. However, he was not prepared for the white button-down shirt. He attempted to wrap the shirt around him but there were no ties or any obi to keep the thing closed. He tried to stuff the shirt into his pants but that didn't feel right either, finally he un-tucked the shirt and stomped out of the changing room towards Kagome. Her mouth fell open at the sight of the dog-demon in jeans and an open shirt, his lean but built chest exposed, storming towards her.

"Tell me how this works, woman!"

She gawked, blinked, coughed, and then got grumpy. The miko grabbed his shirt and began to button it up for him, fussing at him about how his anger was making her look like an idiot in front of the clerk. InuYasha wanted to get angry right back but he needed her to teach him how to, as she put it, 'button' his shirt. She kept her eyes trained on each button, her cheeks a bright shade of pink. He grumbled and looked down at her work, memorizing how she fed the button through each hole, leaving the last two at the top undone. When she finished she glared up at him.

"You get it now?"

The powerful demon hesitated for a moment. She was inches from his face. How had she gotten so close? Why was she blushing? Confused and frustrated at the rush of emotions in his mind he turned away from her and crossed his arms across his chest petulantly. Kagome, irritated by his temper, peeked around the dog-demon and smiled sheepishly at the clerk.

"This is great. We'll take it all."

The man hurried out with all the clothes in his hands, Kagome stepped to the register. InuYasha stayed where he was, arguing with himself mentally about what he was feeling for the girl. She was relieved. If he saw the scanner and the register he might have flipped out again. The clerk quickly finished the order and she handed off the credit card. He swiped it and then handed her two large bags of clothing. She turned back to the demon.

"All right, let's go."

InuYasha harrumphed and stalked back over to her, grabbing the shopping bags from her hands.

"Well? Where to? I'm hungry."

Kagome huffed but she had already released the bags to his grasp so she led him out the door and back onto the street. Immediately, the girl was aware that InuYasha was not thrilled with the sounds and smells assaulting his senses all over again. He scowled worse than ever. The miko decided to head towards a nearby park she knew of in the district. At least he'd be a little more comfortable and she hoped the smells would be less intense there. They could always get food from a vendor nearby anyway. First she told the half-demon to wait outside while she ducked into a convenience store, purchased an item, paid for it, and zipped back out. She then led him to the park. As they walked through the park she could see InuYasha visibly relax. The scowl faded to his normal daily frown. His nose twitched and his head tilted up to sniff the air. Something smelled good and Kagome was leading him in that direction. He watched her pay the vendor in those strange coins he'd seen her carry around before. He took something out of his cart which smelled delicious, wrapped it in a metallic substance he now knew of as 'tin foil', and handed two to Kagome.

The dog demon was salivating. She led him to sit down under a tree that was isolated from most of the people wandering around and handed him the foil-wrapped thing.

"It's a hot d—er…frankfurter."

He looked at her quizzically for a second then devoured the hot dog, tossing the tin foil aside. Humans had such odd names for their food. He quickly jumped up into the branches of the tree so he could have his food in peace. The 'hot-der-frankfurter' was a treat and eventually Kagome was forced to buy several more before he was satisfied. The miko tilted her head back and leaned back on her hands, palms pressing against the grass, flat, watching him. She made a face.

"Are you done yet?"

He nodded and jumped back down to the ground, the jeans were a little tight and didn't allow him as much freedom of movement as he would have liked… but he didn't want to get sat or get kicked out for wearing the fire rat robe. Kagome was watching him again and the look caused him to hesitate. Was she… staring? Her stormy blue eyes were wide, pink lips parted slightly. To his chagrin he found himself captivated by it. Kagome had similar feelings. Seeing the dog-demon crouched over in his usual pose in modern clothing had turned out to be a better experience than she had first realized. She was reminded of the moment he stalked towards her from the changing room and she had to admit, though she'd seen his chest before when she had tried to take care of his injuries during one of their first meeting, it still took her breath away. Inu Yasha was the first to break the awkward silence.

"Feh."

He let his legs slip out from under him, falling back onto his behind onto the soft grass. Kagome blanched, forced to break from her trance as she watched his eyes scan the area with suspicion.

"So when do we have to go back to the beast?"

She blinked and looked around momentarily, then checked her watch.

"Ah! We should be heading back now."

He nodded and grabbed for his Tetsusaiga; laying on the grass by his hip. All that time he had carried the sheathed blade around with him, unable to place it anywhere without an obi to hold it. Kagome, however, had already come to a solution and now she was reminded of it.

"Here," She said, shuffling through one of the shopping bags until she yanked out a black leather belt. "See those loops around your pants? That's what this is for. You can carry the Tetsusaiga with it."

He snatched the belt from her and fumbled to put it on, muttering something about her taking her damn time to let him know he wouldn't have to carry his sword around like a damned idiot. She snapped back that his insistent hunger made her forget. They argued about this for a moment, he used these moments to watch her eyes. They sparkled in anger, something Kikyo rarely ever did. In fact, the old miko's eyes had always seemed rather dead, even when she was alive. Kagome's eyes were always flashing with her ever-changing emotions. The little tiffs they had gave him a chance to examine those little expressions, using his crude language to egg her on. After some fussing he finally secured the belt and slipped his sword through the band at the back of his pants. He was relieved to know that the humans at least were not so helpless they did not have anything to carry their own blades around. Kagome was glad he didn't notice that no one except him carried a sword.

The two got up and made their way to the area where they had been dropped off. Kagome picked up her pace to a quick trot as she realized most of the couples had already gathered and the limo was waiting. Before they got too close the miko turned to him suddenly, InuYasha had been following her so close he had to stop abruptly to keep from slamming into her.

"What is it now, wench?" He said with a grumble.

Kagome made a face and responded, "Look, when we get in the car…" She hesitated, her heart fighting to keep her from saying what she needed to say, "When we get in the car" She repeated, "I want you to-to… urgh. Just hold my hand or something. You've got to pretend like we're a… couple... if you don't want to get kicked out. You understand?"

The half-demon stopped, opening and shutting his mouth for a few seconds. Shocked and suddenly reminded of his uncomfortable, yet pleasant, situation before. He did not like this one bit. Touching her made him… soft. He tended to make mistakes and mistakes got her hurt. He wasn't about to leave her to that Shiro guy, though, and finally with a grunt and a shout he exclaimed,

"All right! Fine!"

Suddenly he reached out and grabbed her hand. The hanyou took the lead now, heading towards the car, growling under his breath. Kagome followed; stunned that he would be so brazen. At the limo, to their relief, no one made any comments to them. They all carried various packages and were too busy talking to their respective partners.

0

The limo rolled up to the towering hotel and everyone piled out. Again, InuYasha was agape, staring at the tower that was even taller than the tallest building he had seen at the shopping district. He still grasped Kagome's hand, hers had been cool most of the trip but over the time his heat had warmed it ever so slightly. He wasn't sure if he ought to let it go, suddenly aware of it again. He slipped a glance Kagome's way but she seemed lost in thought about something else. There were too many people there to explain to him about elevators and she was justifiably concerned about his reaction to a new machine.

There was no time to talk, though. Some bellhops had come forward with all the guests' luggage and once they had confirmed which bags belonged to which couple they proceeded to take their shopping bags and led them to one of six elevators in the lobby.

InuYasha, of course, would not let them take their shopping bags without a short argument between himself and his companion.

Finally, they were led to an elevator. There was a chime and the doors opened to a tiny room with no openings except the one that had just opened. He tensed. Every bone in his body screamed that this was yet another demonic trap. Demons would descend from the ceiling at any moment and jump on them, he was certain. He raised his head and sniffed the air cautiously but sensed and smelled no demons. Still, his free hand moved towards the Tetsusaiga on his belt, changing up his stance so his legs could be further apart, ready to leap into action. Kagome could feel his tension rise.

Two other couples had entered the elevator along with a bellhop. He carried their names on a clip board and their room assignments. He took a keycard from a lanyard around his neck and swiped it through a reader, then dialed in the floor number—the miko could guess that they were given premium suites; that could only be the reason the man had to use a special key to bring the elevator to their floor. The doors chimed and slid closed. Kagome looked up to check on him. She could see a fang slip past InuYasha's lips. He was not happy. The elevator then began to move, InuYasha sucked in his breath, surprised when his stomach did a somersault. They were moving up by some invisible force. His free hand now touched the hilt of his blade; then froze. An arm snaked around his arm that held Kagome's hand. He felt something soft and warm brush his elbow. To his shock he realized Kagome was hugging his arm and the soft thing he felt was her chest brushing him through his long-sleeved shirt. His mind reeled. She was touching him!

He stood rooted to the spot. All of his rage and paranoia evaporated under the sheer confusion and convoluted emotions overtaking his thoughts. Why would she be that close? What was she doing? Did that mean that they were safe? More questions ran through his head, all of them lacking answers. He chanced a glance down at Kagome but her eyes were hidden behind her bangs; he was sure she was looking intently at his hand. With his mind still spinning, the elevator doors chimed. The doors opened but they no longer appeared to be in the lobby. As if by magic they were in a completely different area!

The bellhop led the three couples down a long hallway, carpeted in a red, white and gold pattern that was both stylish and intricate. The bellhop led one couple to a door, handed two keys and bowed out, explaining that they should be ready to have dinner at eight. InuYasha and Kagome were led to their room next, given keys, the same instructions and the location of the dining hall.

By that point Kagome had released his arm and was instructing him in how to use the keycards. It didn't take him long to figure out how to swipe the card, then turn the knob. The off-white door with gold trim swung open to a huge living area. The carpet was red with images of small lotus flowers peppered through it. Two modern, angular couches with black wooden lacquered arms and tan cushions surrounded a glass coffee table with matching lacquered table legs. Behind the couches Kagome's luggage and InuYasha's shopping bags sat in their cart, having been brought by the bellhops some time ago.

Kagome stood dumbstruck in the living area. The opulence was astounding! Oblivious, the dog-demon stalked around the living room, snorting and sniffing. He tossed his baseball cap onto the couch as he passed by, happy to free his ears. From the living area he stopped in front of two sliding pocket doors on the left and yanked them open. He had to check for vulnerabilities; after all. There, he found a bedroom with a huge, king-sized bed. It had a black lacquered wooden head board, pristine white sheets and comforter, a black blanket folded neatly at the foot of the bed, and a few black and tan decorative pillows. There were several beautiful furniture pieces and on the far wall was a large window overlooking the city. On the other side of the bedroom was a bathroom, he recognized the various apparatuses within it as a 'shower', 'sink', and 'toilet', though these looked far more complicated than the one that he had seen at Kagome's house. From the living room he heard Kagome gasp and ran back, his hand on the hilt of the Tetsusaiga.

"Oh!"

Kagome was standing behind the couches; she had pulled back the curtains against the far wall to reveal a huge line of windows which turned out to be overlooking the city as well. InuYasha joined her. The lights were dazzling. It was like thousands of multicolored paper lanterns were littering the city; it was only barely dusk but the lights were far brighter than he had ever seen. He looked down and realized they were far higher than any tree he had ever relaxed in—he liked it. The higher up they were the safer they had to be.

As Kagome watched the skyline a claw clamped down on her shoulder, whirling her around to face amber eyes, startled at the sudden motion. His eyes were hard, searching her face, his hands heavy on her shoulders. He spoke,

"Kagome? Why did you…" He paused, his eyes left her face for a moment as he thought long and hard about what he was going to say, finally, he continued "…why did you hang on to me like that?"

The miko huffed, uncomfortable at their sudden closeness.

"Well I had to! I couldn't have you hacking up the elevator!"

Ele...what? She had to be talking about the magic box. His hands lifted from her shoulders. Ah. That was it. She had distracted him to keep him from making a ruckus. It wasn't anything more than that. Kagome saw a frown flit across his face that wasn't his usual scowl… was it, disappointment? Yeah, right. Since when had it bothered him what she was doing? The dog-demon seemed to realize she was getting irritated and turned his back to her, arms crossed. He heard the miko wander off and shuffle through one of his shopping bags, his ears pricked up and turned them in her direction without turning his body. Then, she stormed off to the bathroom; she was muttering something under her breath about why she bothered about some things. The water started running in the bathroom. He immediately assumed she was taking a shower. Then there was the sound of Kagome calling his name. He hesitated for a moment. She wasn't—naked—was she? He'd seen her before, once, it wasn't a bad sight. But, then, did that mean holding his arm had meant more after all? Curiosity got the better of him and he headed into the bedroom and to the bathroom.

What he found was Kagome holding a small bowl with some dark goo inside it and a strange-looking paintbrush. She set the bowl down on the sink and eyed him, one hand on her hip. The next sentence out of her lips took his breath away.

"Take off your shirt."

"Whoo-whah?" He stammered, taking a step backwards out of the bathroom.

"Take off your shirt!" The miko demanded, taking a step forward. The dog-demon panicked, taking another step backwards, then growled. "W-why should I? What do you want, woman?"

Wrong answer.

"Sit!"

*Blam!*

InuYasha went crashing to the floor. In a heartbeat Kagome was straddling him, flipping him over and making quick work of the buttons. She knew he'd be trapped there for a good couple of seconds under the influence of the beads before he could struggle again. She deftly unbuttoned his shirt, trying not to think about his bare chest. InuYasha was so stunned, now recovered from his initial fall, that he said nothing, his amber eyes watching her fingers, his claws twitched against one of her knees. She wanted this? He wondered. The shirt fell open and Kagome stood up and extended a hand down to the dumbstruck demon. Her cheeks were flushed with color and she knew she had to be quick if she wanted to get him to do what it was that she was about to put him through. He took her hand and allowed her to pull himself up, stepping in close, so close in fact that she could feel his breath on her forehead. She was pushing off his shirt and he watched it fall away, still too shocked to know what to do, his heart beating so hard he felt it would crack his chest open. Something soft draped over his shoulders. She was leading him into the bathroom.

"Put your butt here…with your back to me." She said. She wouldn't sit him this time. He did as he was told. She found it eerie how cooperative he was being but took it as a stroke of good luck. Kagome grabbed up the bowl again and dipped the brush into the goo, her free hand grabbed up a lock of his silver hair, surprised at how soft and smooth it was; she'd expected it to be a tangled mess. With a sigh, she brought the brush to his hair and began to coat it with the goo. InuYasha started to object; bringing his hand to his hair having it slapped back.

"I have to dye your hair. Do you know what happens in two days?"

The hanyou opened his mouth to argue but then shut it quickly. A new moon. He'd be human, and _vulnerable_, in a few days. Kagome continued,

"People will ask questions if your hair suddenly goes from white to black, so we'll have to dye your hair black for the rest of the time we're here." She paused and leaned around to look at him. "…Unless you'd like me to be coupled with Shiro?"

He growled and shook his head, sending some of the gooey dye flying. As Kagome worked through his hair she marveled at how much of it he really had. It was quite thick, and soft, too. After almost thirty minutes she had gotten all the dye in. She stood up from her seat behind him and readjusted the towel so that his long hair wouldn't touch his skin. The miko squatted in front of her companion and looked into his eyes, stormy pools narrowed slightly.

"Don't touch your hair for forty-five minutes. Don't even think about shaking off, either. After that I'll tell you what to do next."

He grumbled and put his hands into his lap. Kagome stepped behind him and washed off her hands.

To distract the half-demon Kagome turned on the television in the bedroom and angled it into the bathroom. He'd seen Sota watch these moving pictures before and was instantly mesmerized. The forty-five minutes went by quickly.

The miko returned to him and ordered him to lean his head over the bath tub. She was relieved that this shower had the traditional Japanese shower head that detached from the wall and she could easily spray off the goop from his hair. She added the conditioner from the kit quickly, thankful that she had found a scent-free formula. InuYasha complained every minute or so about how uncomfortable his neck was—until he felt Kagome leaning against his back. He realized he could feel her chest on the back of his neck, her scent everywhere, intoxicating. Her fingers wove through his hair, making sure to work in the conditioner and then spray it back out again. Her hands felt good on his scalp and InuYasha was thankful that water's spray drowned out the sound of his purring. However, what he didn't know was that Kagome was aware of the dog-demon's purring anyway. The vibrations emanating through his chest she could feel in his back where her body touched him. She blushed and finished washing out his hair, turned off the water, and then dumped the towel back onto his head.

"Okay, you're done."

The dog-demon stood and rubbed the towel over his hair; he glanced at his reflection in the mirror and scowled. He looked almost exactly as he did during the new moon! That version of himself was… weak. It reminded him of the version of him that could not protect Kagome. Useless. At least his eyes were the same. He grunted and skulked out of the bathroom, desperately trying to get water out of his ears. He would only do something this humiliating for her. He hoped she knew that.

Kagome was not in the bedroom and he stepped out into the living area to look for her. The miko was sitting on the sofa, hunched over a small clam shell case, applying make-up to her face. She was also wearing a white sweater mini-jacket over her sundress. He scoffed.

"You don't need to waste your time on that crap."

She looked up at him, scowling, "Why not?"

Without thinking he replied, "You look good with it off-…" His voice trailed away, he had to admit; she did look beautiful made up like that. He stared. Kagome became uncomfortable and muttered,

"Whatever, go put a shirt on."

A smirk crossed his lips, she was watching his body. He could see the pink in her cheeks and ears, even under her make up he could see it creeping through. He had to admit, he was hot stuff. A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts and the familiar voice of the bellhop sounded from the door.

"Excuse me, I'm here to inform you that dinner is served."


	6. Dizzy Up the Girl

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Edited May 28, 2011

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InuYasha vigorously rubbed his hair with the towel to dry it out even more, then got frustrated and shook his hair out, sending droplets of water everywhere. Kagome squealed and jumped behind the couch to avoid the water hitting her. He watched her flee with a grin. The dog-demon knew she _hated_ it when he did that but it was extremely entertaining to watch her freak out. He reached up and touched his now-black locks. It felt pretty dry so he shuffled over to the bedroom and retrieved his shirt. As he bent to take it he couldn't help but remember the picture of Kagome sitting above him, ranting and raving as she tore off his clothes. He'd seen it happen before but… this time he couldn't argue with her. He might have even _liked_ it a little. He shook his head at the thought, conscious of his black hair again, and yanked on his shirt. Buttons sucked, he decided. The dog-demon was still struggling with the concept but he eventually got them all done up. His stomach growled and he was suddenly aware of Kagome's presence in the doorway behind him.

"Here." She tossed him a dark brown suede jacket and continued, "Put that on. It'll look nice at dinner."

As he turned he caught the jacket in one hand and tugged it on, then he heard a snapping sound. Kagome was much nearer, examining his face; she had a white strip of what looked like a bandage hanging out of her mouth. Upon further inspection he realized it was stuck to her bottom lip. He wondered if it was some strange accessory for dinner.

"Squat down." She said.

He crossed his arms sullenly and responded. "Why should I? You've been ordering me around all day. Who died and made you empress, huh?"

She eyed him, refusing to take the bait, her hands moved to her hips. She was assuming the sit position. Not good. He knew the look well. Even with the piece of bandage stuck to her lip he rather preferred to keep his dignity so he dropped down to a squat. To his shock he felt her hands in his hair. One hand pushed back his hair while the other touched his ear, sending a shiver down his spine.

"InuYasha," she murmured, "This might be a little uncomfortable, but people are going to freak if they see your ears. As soon as we get done with dinner and we can come back here you can take this off. I don't mean to put you through all this…but… I'd hate it if you left."

She said the last part so quietly that had he been human he wouldn't have heard it. He could tell his ears were getting warm and hoped she couldn't feel it. She rubbed his ears between two fingers for a moment, marveling at how soft they were. To InuYasha it felt like heaven, her fingers were cool and soothed the burning in his ears from the blush. Without thinking he leaned his head into her palm. He almost looked peaceful.

"Ah… I'm sorry I have to do this but I have to tape down your ears"

"What?"

He grabbed her hand, amber eyes flashing at her. She glared back at him, her cheeks a rich red color.

"Do you want to get dinner or not?"

He refused to respond but he dropped her hand. As gently as she could she applied the medical tape to each ear and pressed them against his scalp, then flipped his dark hair over the tape. The hanyou reached up to scratch at his ears, they itched terribly.

"This dinner better be worth it, damn it!"

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Several minutes later the grumpy half-demon and the miko argued their way down the elevator to the dinner hall. Kagome gave the greeter their names and the woman escorted them to a dim lounge-like area with chocolate brown tables encircled by rounded maroon high-backed seats. A delicate looking glass vase sat in the center of each table with two white roses carefully arranged inside. The plates seemed to match the white of the roses perfectly with a thick gold line surrounding the lip. She was relieved to see chopsticks instead of forks, as was common in upscale hotels. The chopsticks themselves were chocolate brown with a gold band across the handles.

The two slid into the seats and Kagome picked up the sheet of fancy printed rice paper laid across her plate. It detailed a dinner of small samples from the finest meals on the menu. The half-demon was staring at his menu, he didn't recognize the names of half the styles of food on the list but the descriptions were making him salivate. They were too busy reading to notice the waiter filling crystal glasses. Moments later InuYasha was sniffing the air. Something smelled good. Very good, in fact, and it was heading their way. Another waiter appeared and set down a serving plate in front of them, explaining that their drinks were specially prepared to compliment the food.

The dog demon descended on the food immediately—until Kagome pinched his leg from under the table.

"Save me some!" She hissed, looking about to see if anyone noticed his boorish behavior. The other couples had apparently come in much earlier and were too engrossed in their food. He grumbled but slowed down, allowing Kagome to snag some pieces of food, all perfectly cut to be easily handled with chopsticks. After a few bites she reached for her glass and took a sip. InuYasha had already downed his. She blinked at the taste. _Was this alcohol_? She wondered, then dismissed it. No, they knew she didn't meet the twenty-year-old drinking age. It certainly did compliment the meal well, though, that was for sure. Her companion had somehow acquired another glass of wine from the silent waiters flitting about and had drained that one as well. As the food on the serving dish dwindled the drinks came and went, Kagome had only drank two glasses and already she felt a little light headed. There was no telling how many glasses InuYasha had gone through.

She chanced a peek at him. Even with his heavily tanned skin she could see the red tint to his cheeks. It made her giggle a little. Amber eyes turned towards her, a piece of food still in his mouth as he mumbled,

"Whuff?"

The miko snorted at his silly expression. He swallowed the piece whole, coughed, punched his chest, and then downed yet another glass. The half-demon growled. What was so damn funny? Kagome quickly grabbed for her third glass of what she was pretty sure by now was wine and gulped down half the contents to stop her giggling. Feeling very content with himself he shrugged her reaction off and cleared the serving dish.

It was quickly replaced by a fresh set of chopsticks and a smaller platter of dessert samples. The wine was changed out for something of a different flavor to compliment the new arrangement of food. The two set to work on the food with gusto until InuYasha's sensitive ears picked up the most obnoxious voice he never wanted to hear: Ikume.

"Damn!" He cursed, leaning towards Kagome he whispered into her ear, "Ikume and Shiro are coming… let's get the hell out of here."

She pouted, "But I'm not done yet!"

InuYasha grabbed her arm and yanked her away from the food, panicking as Ikume's voice drew closer, "C'mon."

Grumbling, she allowed him to drag her out from behind the table, grabbing one last sip of wine before being swept away. As she stood she stumbled, her mind spinning as the blood and the alcohol rushed to her head, but was quickly caught by the half-demon muttering to her about not making too much noise.

By some miracle they slipped away unnoticed. However, the trip to the elevator was a much more difficult task. Kagome's steps were slow and wobbly. He snickered at the sight of the miko's valiant effort to maintain her balance. What was that word Kagome used?

"Heh, trashed."

His own mind was more than a little fuzzy and he had trouble staying one step behind her as her next step always seemed to go in some unplanned direction. She came to a jerky halt at the elevator, and then slowly leaned backwards, apparently forgetful of gravity. The hanyou put his claws on her shoulders to steady her. The elevator chimed and she stumbled forward, tripping on her way in, causing InuYasha to have to zip around her; only to find that he was not quite as equipped to catch her as he normally would. He stumbled and fell to the floor sideways; Kagome flopped on top of him. The elevator attendant had apparently seen this many times before ignored them and closed the doors behind them, taking them on to their floor.

The door chimed and opened on their floor. The two were still trying to disentangle themselves—not an easy feat when one is drunk. Somehow the half-demon was able to get on to his feet and extended a hand down to Kagome. She took it with a giggle and made a feeble attempt to rise to her feet; instead she kept falling back on her behind. Shaking his head he tucked his arm under her legs, the other around her back, and swept her up off the floor. He then made his cautious journey to their door. His world wasn't spinning nearly as much as Kagome's. The miko had leaned her head against his shoulder, her arms wove around his neck, and again he became aware of her sweet scent. The demon killer who could strike fear into the hearts of his enemies wore the dopiest smile ever.

"You smell good, Inu…Yasha…" Kagome murmured into his neck, he could feel her lips on his skin, soft and warm. Before he could respond he realized he was at the door to their room. It took quite a bit of effort and dexterity to hold Kagome in one arm and find his keycard with the other—mostly because he was having some trouble maintaining his concentration on his balance while holding her securely. After a couple of attempts and a string of curses the door finally accepted his card and allowed them inside.

"Damn magic doors." He grunted and stepped inside.

Once the door was shut behind him he carefully worked his way towards the huge bed and gingerly set her down. Kagome seemed to have other ideas, though, because she held onto his neck tightly. Unable to keep his balance he fell forward into her stomach, instinctively jerking his arms out around her to stop his face from colliding into her torso. He ended up face to face with Kagome, her eyes half-closed, peering up at him through her thick lashes. He stared back, then cleared his throat and stuttered.

"Y-you… need to get some rest. Where do you keep your pajamas?"

"I got 'em. No worries, m'kay?" Kagome slurred and unhooked her arms from his neck. She slid off the bed slowly and stumbled into the next room where her suitcase lay. InuYasha attempted to follow her out but the world suddenly leaned sideways and he had to stop in the doorway to the living area to keep his balance. The wine seemed to be acting stronger than it had moments ago. Kagome, nearing the couch, crossed her arms in front of her and pulled her sundress up and off her head. The half-demon tilted his head to the side (to follow the leaning room) and gaped at her figure navigating the dangerous slope in his vision with only a little trouble.

Reaching the suitcase she rifled through it until she found the top half of her pajamas. She couldn't find the matching pants and kept checking again, and again, for the missing bottoms, not realizing she'd missed them three times sitting right at the top of her pile of clothes. Designating the search as futile, the miko hesitantly navigated her arms through the long sleeves and fiddled with the buttons. InuYasha would have continued to stare at her indefinitely but his ears began to itch. Remembering that they were away from prying eyes he reached up and gently peeled the medical tape off of his ears and scalp, wincing when he pulled out a few hairs. He crumpled the tape up in his fist and tossed it neatly into a nearby garbage can, feeling pretty darn cool for doing so while he was so dizzy. His satisfaction in himself was short-lived as he heard Kagome's pouty voice much closer.

"InuYasha... Help. These buttons don't work."

He opened his mouth to question her but she moved right past him and plopped unceremoniously onto the bed. She waved her arms.

"Help, help. Ooh… they spin." Kagome giggled, now enchanted with her hands, splaying her fingers out above her head.

The dog-demon's alcohol-addled brain found nothing wrong with the arrangement and he found himself stumbling over to the bed, crouching over her prone figure. He grumbled as his claws fumbled with the buttons.

"Always need m'help… so helpless."

Kagome had managed to bring three buttons together in the center of her shirt so he decided to work his way from the middle up first. Amber eyes squinted at the buttons that kept slipping from his fingers, agitating him to no end. No matter what he seemed to do or where he looked the buttons just wouldn't cooperate. Stupid human inventions, obis were so much better. That gave him an idea. He slid off the bed and ambled back into the living room to his clothes, searching slowly he finally came up with the sash from his fire rat robe.

"Mu-huh-ch better," he slurred as he returned to the bedroom.

The hanyou scrambled back up onto the bed, scooped her body up with one arm, wrapped the sash around her waist several times, and then secured the ends within the wrappings to keep them from coming undone. Without a thought he let go of her body and watched it flop back down to which the miko gave a groan. He observed his handiwork for a moment, proud at his accomplishment. The half-demon decided she looked better that way anyway and nodded to himself in agreement. Deciding his work there was finished he began to crawl towards the end of the bed when his foot became caught on something. His head swung back slowly only to find that it was Kagome's hand on his ankle. She was on her side, propped up on one elbow while her free hand tugged gently on his foot.

"Wait. Stay here with me." She whispered, he couldn't tell if her cheeks were pink from the alcohol or something else. Her blue-gray eyes bored into his, he loved making her angry just to get the chance to look into them. He gulped and nodded, crawling back towards her to lay on his side facing her, using one hand to hold up his head. He watched her eyes grow concerned and felt a cool touch on his cheek.

"You're flushed. Are you sick?"

Rendered speechless after he became lost in her eyes, it was all he could do just to shake his head 'no.' Her fingers traced the shade of his blush from his cheekbone back to his jaw and then slid down his neck where she curled one finger around a strand of his hair that had fallen forward. For a time she examined it, then shifted off of her elbow to lay on her side with her head on one of the thick pillows. As she laid down she held onto his hair, causing the hanyou to tilt his head down towards her or risk getting his hair yanked out. His lips were mere inches from hers and he sucked in a halting breath.

If he was any closer, he thought, he'd be kissing her. That thought inspired another. She was pulling him closer because she wanted him to kiss her. So, why not do it? He could give her just one kiss, he reasoned, and if she got mad he could always blame the alcohol. As if acknowledging his intention the miko closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh. He moved in slowly, his own eyes slid shut as he drew close enough to feel her breath on his lips. A single word slipped through.

"Kagome…"

He waited there just to hear her say something, anything, to let him know this was okay, just once more.

Silence.

He hesitated then whispered softly, "Kagome?"

Still nothing.

His ears swiveled forward to pick up the rhythm of her heart beat. It beat slowly, steadily, not thrumming with life as it did when she was agitated or excited. Kagome had fallen asleep. InuYasha exhaled, having suddenly remembered that he had been holding his breath for some time. He wouldn't steal a kiss like some thief. Pulling his head back a little he realized Kagome had locked on tightly to his hair. He wouldn't be going anywhere for a while unless he wanted to be short one sideburn.

Slowly, carefully, he scooted down so that he too was lying on his side. It felt odd laying down on something so soft when he was so used to his bed being a tree branch or grass. Admittedly, he was closer to Kagome than he had ever been while she was asleep. He allowed himself to entertain the thought that this place by her side might very well be the only place he ever wanted to be. It was then the hanyou decided that he could close his eyes and wait for her to relinquish her hold on his hair. Moments later he was sound asleep.

0

A few hours later Kagome shivered. The two had fallen asleep on top of the comforter and by now her body had become chilled. She had detached her fingers from his hair long before then so she had no trouble rolling on to her side, her back to InuYasha. Oblivious to his proximity but still chilled the miko wriggled about, seeking to snake her way under the covers. When that proved fruitless she scooted further into the center of the bed until her back touched something warm. The warmth molded itself to the back of her body and another warm thing draped around her upper arm. Comfortable again, the unconscious miko tucked her arms beneath InuYasha's arm. She slipped quickly into deep sleep.


	7. The Date

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I've gotten some excellent feedback and I'm really excited to be turning out these chapters the way I have. I'm sorry this one didn't come as quick but it's a much longer chapter. Again, though, if you have ideas for activities or if you think there's something—anything—in the story that could help make it more rich *please* let me know. It doesn't even have to be about *my* fanfic. It could be other problems that bugger you about fanfic authors. I really want to hear about it. Just the other day someone was talking to me about a pet peeve they had with some IY stories and it really helped me to visualize the direction for some of my later chapters. With any luck I hopefully won't make the same mistake. That's why it's so important to speak up! I want to make this story just as enjoyable for you as it is for me.

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Inu Yasha and Kagome slept through breakfast.

---

An hour after that Kagome stirred. Blue-gray pools opened slowly to an unfamiliar sun-filled bedroom. For a moment she wondered where she was; closing her eyes to ponder the question; then gradually remembered that she was at the hotel. Relaxing at the thought she shifted a bit to stretch but found her shoulders wouldn't move. Perplexed, the miko pressed her arms against the offending object. It wouldn't budge an inch. It felt like she was trapped in steel, but it was warm. She pushed with a little more effort and was rewarded with a soft growl—right by her ear. Her eyes snapped open and shot down, discovering that it was an arm. She recognized the grip, gentle but firm, and her eyes followed it down to a very familiar clawed hand. _Oh gods. It couldn't be! _

"Inu…Yasha?" She breathed, barely able to get the words out.

Pointed ears twitched. From somewhere ephemeral the dog-demon heard the whisper and murmured a response.

"Hmm?"

The voice was in her ear, near the nape of her neck. She could feel his breath. Her heart did a back flip. Awareness seeped back in. If his arm was around her, and his face was close enough for her to feel his breath behind her…then the warmth she was feeling all along her backside could only be…Inu Yasha's body. _But_ _how_?

Her eyes darted about, taking stock of her situation, trying to piece together the events from the previous night. She wriggled about, recalling leaving for dinner, the dark lounge, the fantastic food, the funny-tasting drinks—drinks? _Oh no!_

At that point the hanyou began to regain consciousness. His sensitive nose had picked up the smell of adrenaline in the air and his ears' attention was drawn to the thrum of Kagome's heart beating rapidly. Immediately, cloud nine vanished from his dreams and his eyes opened wide. What he saw was a girl wiggling frantically in his arms. With a yelp Inu Yasha retracted his arms and somersaulted backwards away from her. In mid-roll he pulled himself upright, squatting on the bed. At the same time the miko shot forward and stumbled out of bed, whirling around to face the half-demon, sputtering.

"Wh-what the—"

He waved his hands in front of him while retreating backwards.

"It's not what you think! I—"

"Not what?! What would I think?!"

She interrupted, and then abruptly froze, the color drained from her face. Her head fell downward, suddenly aware that she wasn't wearing any pants. For a moment she stared, dumbstruck. Not only was she half naked but Inu Yasha's sash was wrapped around her waist. Her hands balled into tight fists.

"WHERE….ARE…MY… PANTS?!"

The mighty demon stammered and backed up further until he was precariously close to the edge of the bed, "B-but you said—"

"I was drunk!" She interjected; her voice shrill in his ears.

"But—"

"Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Siiiiit!"

Inu Yasha went crashing off the edge of the bed, crushed into the floor by the enchanted beads about his neck. As he lay stunned on the floor Kagome stomped out of the bedroom and to her suitcase in the living area, tears of rage hot in her eyes. As she passed through she realized that there was a cart parked next to the coffee table with covered platters resting on it. It occurred to her that they'd probably missed breakfast but that didn't matter. She wasn't done being angry yet. Grumbling and fussing the miko went to her suitcase, flipped open the lid and tore through her belongings. She grabbed some fresh clothes and stormed back through the living area and into the bathroom, noting that the dog-demon was still trapped by the power of the beads behind the bed.

Inu Yasha blinked stars out of his eyes and wheezed. The fall had knocked the wind right out of him. At that point he had been so used to getting sat for various reasons that he simply laid there and waited for the effect to wear off. No point in struggling. The crashing and clomping had stopped when the door closed with a loud *wham!* Gradually regaining movement the hanyou scooted back until he was no longer pressed into the side of the bed with his neck bent uncomfortably against the floor but rather could lay completely on his back. The sound of running water finally stirred him back into action. His head peeked above the bed; just to be sure Kagome was really taking a shower, and then scrambled back onto his feet and sauntered into the living area. His nose picked up the scent of food, instantly aware of his empty stomach. Spying the covered platters he lifted one up and investigated the contents. It certainly smelled edible. With a shrug he went to town devouring his plate of breakfast.

After finishing his meal he flopped down onto one of the couches. The shower was still running. Feh. Women always took so much time to get ready. He was always having to wait on Kagome for one thing or another. Always packing those damned backpacks. The thought of hanging around the well and her house for endless hours immediately put his restless spirit into a foul mood. His poor frame of mind turned his thoughts back to their disastrous awakening. The hell had he done? _She_ was the one who had lost her damn pants. _She_ was the one who had asked him to stay. _She_ was the one who had the nerve to fall asleep right when he was about to—he shook his head with a growl. No, he wasn't going to think about that. He forced his mind firmly back on its' ugly track with his utter embarrassment; wanting to keep himself worked up. _She'd_ made him a _damned fool_!

Inu Yasha continued to let his mind boil, only vaguely aware that the shower had stopped running. Kagome emerged moments later with her hair wrapped up in a towel. She had on a pair of dark blue jeans, a pale yellow button-down top, and a black vest left open. The dog-demon glared indignantly at her but kept quiet. The silence was deafening. The only sound came from the clink of tableware as Kagome ate her breakfast.

When she finished her meal she pushed the cart towards the door to leave it outside the room when she realized there were two small envelopes at her feet. The notes must have been pushed under the door while they were asleep.

Inu Yasha had shut his eyes where he sat so she couldn't yell at him about staring at her but opened them when he heard the serving cart move and then abruptly stop. Kagome was reading some sort of letter. She had another envelope clasped in her other hand. She began to read aloud.

"_My dear Kagome, I missed you at dinner last night and then again at breakfast this morning. A man could think you were being rude. I, however, believe you were simply being coy and I must insist that you allow me to take you out. I would be shirking my duties as your host if I did not make up our lost time to you in some way. If your acquaintance would not mind parting with your company for a few hours then I will meet you in the lobby at noon. I'll see you soon, Shiro. P.S. If your associate does mind then I suppose I might have to remove him from the premises._"

The miko was almost certain she could hear a blood vessel explode on Inu Yasha's forehead.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" He bellowed, cracking his knuckles; fangs bared. "Who the hell does he think he is? Sesshoumaru?" He spat his half-brother's name out with a great amount of venom. Kagome blanched at the thought. She supposed it was possible for a full-blooded demon like him to live so long, but no, it couldn't have been him. Inu Yasha would have known his scent immediately. However, he had said something about Shiro and Ikume holding a strange scent. The dog-demon was very busy cursing Shiro and his kin to no one and shouting about how many different ways he would shred the man who dared say those things to Kagome. He did not notice the miko's contemplative look, her fingers rose to the bridge of her nose and rubbed it in hopes it would coax out some sort of plan.

"I'll make sure he regrets those words! I'll throw him off his own damn—"

"Inu Yasha," Kagome interrupted, "Wait. Let's think about this for a minute. Hey, this note is addressed to you."

His bloodlust fizzled out momentarily, completely at a loss.

"Huh? What note? Give me that!"

He snatched the letter from her hands and slashed the top off the envelope with one sweep of his claw. She waited expectantly for him to read his letter out loud but the dog-demon never did. His amber eyes darted along the fancy cursive for a few minutes, pouring over the words. Then with a disgusted "Feh" he tossed the letter to the floor and crossed his arms over his chest. The miko retrieved his letter (covered in little, hand-drawn hearts, no less) and read it silently.

"_My sweet love, I was so sad when you did not wait to see me at dinner. I put on the prettiest dress for you and everything! I've missed you soooooo much since we last saw each other. When you closed the door on my nose on the train I really did want to sue you but I love you too much to do that to you…"_ Kagome had to stop reading so she could roll her eyes before diving back into the letter, _"…So in order to make up for it all I want you to take me to a movie. It'll be lots of fun! I'll meet you in the lobby this afternoon. XOXO Ikume"_

The miko read and then re-read the line about suing him. Not good. If the Baines family were to try and sue the half-demon Kagome could wind up with a huge mess on her hands. Lawsuits were a long-standing affair at best. Her family certainly didn't have the kind of money to hire lawyers for several years of battling courts; especially battling a family as high-profile and rich as the Baines… Not to mention the media frenzy that might ensue if Japan suddenly realized there were real-life demons in the world. Her brow wrinkled in consternation.

"Inu Yasha," She began carefully, "I know you think we should head back but, I think we should humor them."

"The hell I will!" He snapped back, "I'm not letting you go off alone with some…some… I don't know what the hell he is but I don't like him."

Kagome knew she had to keep her composure if she were going to get the hanyou to listen so she pressed on, "Listen to me. If Ikume doesn't get her way she might sue. That's why she's mentioning it. My family can't afford that—and what if you got discovered in all this, huh? You might never be able to see me again!"

The way Inu Yasha froze in place told her that he was taking things far more seriously so she continued, "Look, besides that. We need to find out more about these people. You say they smell different and I'm sensing something different in them as well. What if they have a Shikon fragment?"

His white ears twitched, they looked almost out of place on his dyed black hair; she was still half-expecting to see human ears even though it was not yet time for him to change. A frustrated growl emanated from the dog-demon, finally ready to respond.

"You'll be alone. I can't protect you if I'm at… whatever that thing is. I don't even know how far away you'll be."

His eyes betrayed the slightest hint of worry. A thought suddenly struck the miko. Jogging over to her luggage she dug around in it until she came back up with several arrows. She returned to the half-demon with them.

"Can you cut the arrow heads off of these for me?"

He frowned, ready to question such a stupid thing until he realized what she was doing. His scowl instantly changed to a fanged smile.

"You want to keep the arrow heads in your pocket."

Kagome smiled back and then nodded. He had to admit she was very clever. If this Shiro person happened to get too close to his woman she'd be able to stab him with one of her purified arrow heads. He still did not like the idea of letting her go off alone while he had to deal with a squeaking banshee but admittedly she would be carrying some protection. Still, though, he had to get in the last word.

"All right, but you better not fucking enjoy yourself. I sure as hell won't—and what the hell is a movie, anyway?"

The rest of the time was spent preparing Inu Yasha for his date.

---

Kagome's Date

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The cheery chime of the elevator signaled that the two companions had to separate. Kagome stepped brusquely past the doors, giving one last glance back to the hanyou before putting on her biggest faux-smile for Shiro. The blonde man waited for her at the lobby's main desk, leaning against it nonchalantly. He smiled wide to her. Kagome noted that she saw no fangs like other youkai or even half-demons. She wondered if fangs could be filed down. Shiro quickly closed the distance between them and placed his hand on the small of her back (she knew Inu Yasha had to be glaring daggers at Shiro), ushering her out of the lobby and to a waiting limo. She clambered in and sat on the opposite side from the door. To her dismay Shiro sat next to her and threw an arm around her shoulders. The miko quickly plucked his arm off her shoulders. He, in turn, raised an eyebrow but seemed bemused by the action and let his arm lay on the top edge of the seat behind her back instead. As the car door closed Kagome could see Ikume rushing towards the dog-demon with her arms up in the air as if to embrace him in a large hug. To her amusement she watched as he quickly side stepped her. She allowed a small, smug grin to cross her lips for the briefest of seconds.

The car door closed and moments later the familiar lurch of the limo moving off could be felt. After a few minutes of silence she spoke.

"So, where are we heading?"

Shiro smiled and replied, "To the tailors, and then to lunch, I've picked out a nice spot for just the two of us."

"Why the tailors?" She queried.

"Oh right, you did not stay long enough to hear our little table-to-table announcement." He responded, "We're holding a masquerade next week so I had our entire lady guests fitted for ball gowns. The tailor had come straight here after breakfast but since you were obviously preoccupied I have to take you now."

At that moment the car stopped and they were released in front of a tailor shop. Barely ten minutes later, the two emerged from the shop; Kagome's cheeks a hot shade of pink. Shiro had practically burned holes right through her with his staring while the tailor had shuffled around her, taking measurements everywhere. Without thinking the miko had crossed her arms over her chest and Shiro regarded the motion with amusement.

"My, my, you look just your little friend."

With a startled look she dropped her hands, her cheeks a brighter shade of red. The action further entertained the man. He could not resist teasing her about it as he held the door open to an upscale café.

"He's been hanging around you for a while then, enough to influence your mannerisms. Oh? Did I strike a nerve? So that must mean you two aren't quite an item yet. Good news for me."

With a frown she brushed past him through the door. Shiro was very perceptive. Most demons seemed fairly oblivious to human emotions. Even Sesshoumaru, though he could irritate Inu Yasha to the point of causing him to make mistakes, he didn't seem terribly aware of Rin's feelings. Once more Kagome wondered if Shiro truly was a demon. Then again, Shippo was very empathetic…

Her musings were interrupted as she was led up a flight of stairs to a private table overlooking the rest of the café. The fair-haired man held her chair out for her and then took his seat opposite from her. Menus were given to each of them and they were left alone to decide their meals. Shiro continued to regard her across the table. The silence made her uncomfortable so she decided to speak.

"So, I assume you've made everyone's dress a surprise? You had them take my measurements but you haven't let me try on anything."

He laughed, "No, dear, just yours."

She raised an eyebrow, "Are you giving me special treatment?"

"You could say that."

A sly grin played across his lips. His bright blue eyes had taken on an almost feral gleam. _That_ look she knew all too well amongst demons. An uneasy feeling threatened to overwhelm her for a moment. Just then the waiter returned and they ordered their food. When she glanced back to Shiro the look was gone from his face. Something tugged at her senses but it was so faint it was hard to justify considering the man a demon. She wondered a little if she was simply put off by his advances.

While they waited for their lunch to arrive the two prattled on about daily life, Kagome hoped that he might reveal something that she could tie to a particular demon from the Sengoku Period. They spoke of school and she learned that he had only recently entered college at a prestigious university in Tokyo. His mother was half-Japanese and half-British and his father was an American. She asked if he had a picture and he replied that he did not. His mother ran a series of hotels in Japan and his father had been a famous actor who frequented her priciest suites on vacation. The two invariably crossed paths and quickly became an item. Shiro was born first. Ikume was born a few years later. Kagome saw nothing in his history that screamed of demonic blood. She highly doubted that a demon would risk going into a job field as intrusive as acting and what could possibly benefit a demon working with a string of hotels?

In exchange for his information she talked a little of living at a shrine and of meeting Inu Yasha when he came with his mother on a visit. They had agreed together with this version of events so that their stories would not contradict each other. The miko spoke of her brother, mother, and grandfather but had time for little more than that when the food arrived. Between the conversation and lunch Kagome relaxed a little about Shiro. He did not seem all that bad and nothing else besides a nagging feeling in her gut told her to worry about anything demonic.

The rest of their lunch was uneventful until they tried to leave the café. Shiro attempted to open the door but someone else had beaten him to it. The door swung open and Kagome found herself face to face with Inu Yasha. He didn't seem surprised, in fact, if she hadn't known better she would have thought that he followed her scent there. With an inward groan she realized that had to have been the reason.

"Kagome…"

He began, his amber eyes searching her; she knew he was checking to make sure that she hadn't been harmed. With a flash of irritation the miko realized Ikume was hanging from one of his arms. The hanyou did not seem to notice. Shiro cleared his throat and spoke up.

"My, you two seem to be awfully comfortable with each other."

There was the slightest hint of annoyance to the man's voice. The dog-demon sputtered and attempted to dislodge his arm from Ikume's grasp. Kagome felt Shiro's hand return to the small of her back and her cheeks flushed in embarrassment as he gently pushed her through the door. She wasn't able to see Inu Yasha's reaction as she was quickly escorted to a waiting limo. The miko crawled in and sat down, to her dismay Shiro had walked back over to the half-demon. He leaned in to say something to him but she couldn't make out what from so far away. Through the tinted windows but she could see Inu Yasha smirk and roll his golden eyes; then shake his head. For a moment Kagome could have sworn the hair got slightly heavier, again that uneasy feeling in her subconscious pulled on her. The feeling vanished just as suddenly as it came. Shiro quickly returned to the limo, his mood seemed to have soured a little but whatever look had been on his face while outside vanished the moment he sat down next to Kagome. Inu Yasha was still watching them; still holding the café door open as the limo moved off.

Kagome was only slightly relieved to find that they had returned to the hotel. She was directed towards the elevator and was disappointed when Shiro followed her in. The miko had hoped they could have parted ways in the lobby. Her distress grew when Shiro ordered the elevator attendant to take them to a floor past the one she was on. The elevator doors opened to a single entrance. It had to be Shiro's floor. He led her to the door and allowed her in, her heart fluttered nervously in her chest.

As she entered the space she gasped as she realized the entire floor was one huge apartment. From the floor to the ceiling the walls were all glass windows reflecting a spectacular view of the city. A large kitchen sat in one corner of the room with black marble countertops laced with glittering white and gold veins. The cabinets were some sort of rich mahogany and there was even a space for a dining area right beside it. The Living room was immediately in front of her with black modular leather sofas and a huge flat screen television hung over a fireplace mantle decorated in the same marble as the kitchen. On the left were walled-off areas that could only be bedrooms.

The fair-haired man took her hand with a warm smile and led her to one of the leather couches. He sat down first and gently pulled her down to sit next to him. Releasing her hands Shiro reached over and took a box with a fancy red bow tied around it from the mahogany coffee table nearby. He handed the box to her.

"Here, this is for you."

Kagome took the box, carefully untied the ribbon, and then pulled off the top lid. Inside was a silver bracelet. She stared at it for a moment. It took her several seconds to find her voice again, forcing her gaze away from the pretty bangle.

"I can't take this. I'm not—"

Her voice broke off; Shiro was much closer to her than he had been seconds before. With a start she realized he was trying to lean in for a kiss. She quickly turned her head to the side; his lips touched her cheek.

"Don't be coy, Kagome." He murmured; his hand on her knee.

The light touch on her knee somehow kicked her brain into high gear. She stood up abruptly. Her cheeks were so hot she felt like they might burst into flames.

"I-I have to go." She stammered and ran to the door, leaving a stunned Shiro, and the bracelet, behind in her wake. Moments later she had called the elevator. Her heart pounded in her chest fearful that Shiro might burst through the door at any moment and stop her retreat. The doors closed. He never came. Kagome let out her breath. She leaned against the wall of the elevator for a few moments, allowing her mind to catch up to her. The attendant waited patiently until the miko could tell him what floor she was on.

Once she was let out onto her floor she made a beeline for their room, swiped the key through, and then let herself in. She looked about for Inu Yasha but quickly surmised that he was still out on his date. With a sigh she plopped down onto one of the couches, staring up into the ceiling. Kagome wondered if Ikume might try to kiss him, too. The thought made her groan in frustration, she slid sideways from a sitting position to a laying pose. Her hand moved to her cheek, rubbing the spot Shiro had kissed that seemed to burn her skin. Her eyes felt heavy. All that running around and pent-up nervous energy had made her exhausted. Gradually, Kagome fell asleep on the couch.

---

Inu Yasha returned to their room an hour later. He felt like he'd had more squealing and squeaking than any man ought to be able to tolerate in a lifetime. He swiped his keycard through the reader and pushed through the door, a sigh passed his lips.

Immediately he saw Kagome laid out on the sofa, sleeping with a small frown on her lips and one of her hands resting on her cheeks. Worried, he rushed to her side and shook her gently. He let out a relieved breath when she stirred; blue-gray eyes squinted groggily at him.

"Inu… Yasha?" She queried.

He nodded and then froze as she locked her arms about his neck in a tight hug.

"Thank goodness you're back. I had a terrible time."

His claws were on her arms in a heartbeat, gently pulling her arms away from his neck so he could look her in the eyes, amber pools full of concern, searching her face for any sign of trouble.

"What's wrong, Kagome? Tell me."

She began to relay to him the story of her date. Forty minutes later she hesitated when she came to the part where they were headed to Shiro's floor. If Inu Yasha learned that the man had tried to kiss her he was as good as dead. If he turned out to be a human then that would be a huge mess on their hands. Instead she chose to tell him about going up to his place, even about the gift, but left out the part with the kiss. From the growling she could tell the hanyou was already worked up enough as it was.

Kagome quickly ended her story with, "So how did your date go?"

The growling stopped as the dog-demon was forced to change gears suddenly from having been the listener to the story teller.

---

Inu Yasha's Date

---

Watching Kagome leave to go off with some other man had been harder for him to deal with than he had initially realized. Part of him had wanted to simply bum-rush the suitor. He really wanted to pummel his face into the marble floor of the lobby. That would have made Kagome mad though, which in turn meant a lot of sits. When Shiro put his mitts on Kagome, again, Inu Yasha couldn't take it anymore. With a snarl he began to approach the retreating couple—but a squeal shattered his dreams of taking down the cheeky bastard. Ikume had arrived.

The blonde bounced her way to him her arms thrown up to embrace him in a hug but the half-demon had other plans. He quickly stepped aside and she trotted a few feet forward and stopped. Ikume turned on her heel and made her way back to him with a pout. Inu Yasha would not let her get far enough to say a word.

"So, are we going to this movie?"

Kagome had explained to him that a movie was sort of like going to the theater or a shadow-puppet show but the show was projected onto a screen instead of seeing live actors on a stage. He concluded that it must have been magic and Kagome had not felt like it would make any difference to explain it any further.

Before he could protest Ikume grabbed his arm and dragged him off to a waiting limo. She went in first and sat down in a seat next to the door, Inu Yasha quickly sat across from her. He did not want to give the girl any sort of impression that he was interested. However, she had other ideas. The blonde scrambled over to his side and snuggled up against his shoulder. Inu Yasha crossed his arms over his chest and waited out the long car ride in silence.

When they reached the theater they were let out at the entrance. Kagome had instructed him to let her choose what she wanted to watch. Ikume, in turn, was ecstatic that he was so generous. The movie theater was an odd place but interesting place to him. It was full of humans milling about, talking, there was a strong scent of food in the air that Inu Yasha would later learn was popcorn. They waited in line for snacks and, as per Kagome's direction, the hanyou bought them on the credit card Kagome had explained to him ho to use. He was grateful that the cashier ran the card at the register, rather than having to use the complicated card reader she had discussed with him as well. He took hold of all of the snacks, happy that it meant that he didn't have to have Ikume hanging all over him. She took this as another chivalrous act by her prince charming.

He followed her to one of the rooms and they picked their way through to a couple of seats high and near the center of everything. The previews were a mix of shows that Inu Yasha found intriguing. Some of them, like the romance previews, seemed ridiculous. Others though, one for an action flick with a single human man taking down at least twenty other human enemies (in a business suit no less!) sucked him in completely. He was disappointed to find out that they were not the subject of the film they were going to watch but he decided that he would have to take Kagome back there. He was certain she would be interested in the very manly film.

The flick turned out to be an animated flick Ikume referred to as 'anime'. It looked like a shadow puppet theater event but full of colors and without strings or sticks or anything. He was instantly fascinated. The plot of the story was too girly for his tastes. It was some sort of magical romantic tale full of colorful transformation sequences and girls crying over weak men who seemed to get their asses kicked at every turn. He could forgive it, though, just on looks alone. The half-demon wondered if they had this anime stuff for guys, too, even going so far as to ask Ikume if that was the case. She obliged and even invited him to watch some at her place. Inu Yasha considered it for a moment, but thought that would possibly make Kagome mad, and he could always get her to watch this stuff with him anyway and that would be ten times better, so he declined.

Ikume pouted for a long portion of the movie but soon realized that her dark-haired companion was completely oblivious to it. She settled for snuggling against his arm for the rest of the film.

When the movie ended the two began looking for a late lunch. Inu Yasha quickly picked up Kagome's scent as they wandered around. So engrossed in tracking her down he allowed the blonde-haired girl to hang from his arm without complaint. His heart began to beat a little faster as her scent became stronger. It felt like his heart had almost stopped when he opened the door to Kagome's beautiful eyes.

Inu Yasha could only get her name past his lips, relieved that she looked perfectly fine. Shiro coughed.

"My, you two seem to be awfully comfortable with each other."

The hanyou suddenly remembered how badly he wanted to punch that man in the face but knew that would get him sat. Biting back his tongue he allowed Ikume to breeze past him while Kagome was pushed towards the waiting limo. Shiro stepped in close and whispered to him.

"Don't you dare think about kissing my baby sister. You take advantage of her and you can be sure you'll disappear."

He smirked at the thought. It was too funny to even respond to such a stupid thing. Ikume was not his ideal mate in any sense of the word. She was clumsy, naive, dumb as rocks, and her voice was an assault on his taped-down ears, even under a protective layer of thick hair the noise speared his brain like a spike to the head. His response was not well thought out but he couldn't resist replying.

"Trust me. I'm not going to do a damn thing—but if you lay one finger on Kagome you can be sure I will be the very last thing you see."

Shiro made no response but the dog-demon was faintly aware of a strange change to the scents in the air. He had no time to consider the source of the scent before Shiro had stepped beyond him to the car. The hanyou watched the man's retreating back, wishing he could see through the black soulless demon called "car" to the woman he really wanted waiting within its belly. With a sigh he headed inside the café.

The overlook Kagome and Shiro had shared was still in the process of being cleaned up so the waiter placed them in a corner of the café slightly away from the rest of the crowd. Again, Inu Yasha allowed Ikume to sit first so that he could sit away from her. To his relief she remained there. The food was ordered with no trouble. The awkwardness, however, came with the meal.

The hanyou had been starving since they had left the theater and his hunger was only fueled further by his unfulfilled desire to pummel Shiro. When the food came Inu Yasha tore into it with gusto, instantly ignoring everything Kagome had said about using chopsticks and acting civilized. He stopped mid-way through a chicken leg to look up at Ikume, who stared in disbelief at her feral lunch mate.

"Whuff?" He asked.

Ikume burst into giggles. "Oh you're just soooo cute!" She gushed.

He shrugged and ate a hair slower, his cheeks warmed slightly. The blonde stared at him with shining blue eyes, smitten. It was then that he realized that somehow the small girl had inhaled her meal even faster than he. Ikume certainly _ate_ like a demon; that was for sure. The meal concluded with the dog-demon quickly clearing his plate. Now that he wasn't starving he began to worry about Kagome. He'd ended his conversation with Shiro in fighting words with and then left her to him. With a sense of dread growing in the pit of his stomach he asked Ikume if she was ready to head back to the hotel.

The closer they got to the hotel, the more intense his trepidation grew. All of his senses pointed to normal but something did not sit right in his heart. He approached the elevator as quickly as he could without revealing his nervous energy. It was quite a feat considering Ikume still clutched his arm between two hands. An attendant called the elevator and Inu Yasha's foot began to tap anxiously. The door chimed and he took a step forward but halted as the young girl stepped into his path. She had her head tilted up, eyes closed, and lips puckered. Without a word he moved past her into the elevator. The doors closed just as the realization dawned on her that he was gone.

---

The wrinkle returned to Kagome's brow as she processed all the new information Inu Yasha had given her. Changing scents, her heightened sensitivity, and their combined discomfort all seemed to point to some sort of demonic activity at work in the hotel. It was hard to say so for certain. Then again, she couldn't be sure of anything.

"Well, we have no real proof something's up here…"

"But you and I are feeling something, too. At least, a little bit..." The dog-demon replied.

She sighed and rubbed her forehead slowly, "Well, we'll keep our eyes open for now."

It was going to be a long vacation.


	8. The Love Notes

---

Another day, another chapter, and I'm really happy to have new people signing up. I can't believe some people have this story as a favorite! It makes me feel pretty darn good. Hey guys if you've got ideas for where they could go or what they could do _please_ send me a message/review. I've got a masquerade coming up in a later chapter and another event in the next chapter but I definitely need more ideas. All ideas are much appreciated--even silly ones.

---

The previous night Inu Yasha had slept on the couch in the living area… much to his disappointment. Secretly, the hanyou would have endured a hundred sits to wake up in the morning next to her again—but not if she did not want it. Sleep had not come nearly as easily as it had beside the miko's warm body but eventually, he did succumb.

The morning, however, had a new surprise in store for them. A knock at the door roused him from his slumber. He glanced through the open bedroom door, a little surprised she had left it open, but the girl still slept peacefully. Slipping the sheath of his Tetsusaiga through his belt on his back he approached the door slowly. The dog-demon threw a baseball cap on his head to cover his ears for good measure and was glad Kagome had the presence of mind to leave a bunch hanging on a hat rack right near the door so he would not forget. A lady who identified herself as 'Room Service' handed the man two white gift boxes tied with a complicated-looking red silk bow. She said it was from Shiro, and then handed over an envelope addressed to Kagome. The lady then bowed and left.

Ignoring the gifts which he tossed unceremoniously onto the coffee table; the dog-demon tore into the envelope. He could smell Shiro's strange scent all over the damned paper. He read through the letter quickly.

"_My dear Kagome, I apologize for being so forward with you last night. You looked so lovely today and you were playing hard-to-get for so long that I had to kiss you. I simply could not help myself…"_ At that point Inu Yasha had to stop reading. Kagome_ kissed _Shiro_?_ She had not mentioned that little tidbit to him in her explanation of her date! He paced around the coffee table, growling and snarling, his mind racing. She gave away _a kiss_ to some guy she had only just met! A smaller part of himself quietly asked, "_Why not me?_" He protected her on a daily basis from all kinds of scum; Inu Yasha highly doubted a man like him could rend a demon asunder like he could. "_But then again_," the same quiet part of him argued, "_Shiro lived in her time period, did not appear to be a demon, and could provide her with a privileged lifestyle. If she were with you then she would be scorned by her world and yours_." He lifted his claws to his scalp to run his fingers through his hair but found the baseball cap there. With a frustrated rumble in his throat he whipped off his hat and threw it into the couch.

At that moment Kagome shuffled into the living area. She was dressed in a bathrobe and had a toothbrush in her mouth. Seeing Inu Yasha in such a troubled state caused the miko to pull the toothbrush from her lips.

"What's going on?" She inquired.

"I'll tell you what's going on," the hanyou bellowed, "You-you and Shiro, that's what's going on!"

She blinked, unsure of what he was talking about. He had not seen terribly worked up the previous night. Inu Yasha would not give her a chance to respond. Instead, he stomped over to her, grabbed her hand, and shoved the letter into her palm. Still too confused to get angry she quickly perused the letter, reading past the part where the dog-demon had stopped. _"…Perhaps I was too forward and scared you off? Regardless, I insist you take my gift. I will not take no for an answer. In apology for my brash behavior I have sent you a second gift for the pool party tomorrow. I would be heartbroken if you did not wear it for me. Dreaming of seeing you tomorrow, Shiro."_

Kagome looked up from the note at Inu Yasha, "That kiss he's talking about… it's not what you think."

"That note says 'kiss' what else could it mean?!"

"He tried to kiss me ON THE LIPS but I turned my face so he'd kiss me ON THE CHEEK! I couldn't get out of the way! It's not liked I wanted it." She shouted.

That poured cold water all over his rage. Inu Yasha hesitated, but the miko was not finished with him yet.

"…And besides that, what are YOU doing reading a note addressed to ME?"

"Why didn't you tell me what he did to you?" He snapped back, having found his tongue again.

She would not respond to his demanding question, instead she stomped over to the two packages on the coffee table and shook one of the boxes at his face.

"I suppose you've gone through these, too? Don't you trust m—?"

Her voice stopped mid-sentence. She was staring at the box in her hand as if it was on fire. The half-demon lost his steam again as he regarded her shocked expression; a hint of concern flickered somewhere deep in his eyes.

"What is it, Kagome?"

With a faltering voice and slightly shaky hands she tore off the bow and threw off the lid of the container. The bracelet Shiro had tried to give her the night before sat inside. This time however, the bangle was accompanied by the matching silver chain of a delicate necklace. On the necklace was a tiny pendant set with the tiniest sliver of a gem. To the miko's eyes the gem glowed. A familiar, yet sickening, feeling settled in the pit of her stomach as realization set in.

"Inu Yasha," She breathed. "It's a _Shikon fragment_."

"Wait, wait. How did you miss it?" Having completely forgotten the argument the dog-demon rushed over to inspect the necklace. It was quickly obvious why she had missed it. The shard was tiny at best. Unless Kagome held the box in her hand she could barely pick up its tell-tale signature. However, something about the fragment didn't sit right with the miko—besides the mere fact that Shiro had simply given away an ancient artifact to a virtual stranger. Her fingers moved over the shimmering fragment, hoping to discern the difference and also to be sure that it was purified. To her shock the shard disintegrated the instant her skin made contact with it.

"It's a fake!" They proclaimed in unison.

"Shit. Now we'll have to stay." The dog-demon grumbled and scuffed the floor with his foot.

Kagome nodded, and then frowned as a more unpleasant thought emerged in her mind. Taking in a slow breath she prepared to break more bad news. The hanyou had seen the look and sensed where it was heading.

"Oh no, don't say it."

"We'll have to get closer to Shiro and Ikume."

"Damn it!"

The half-demon followed up his first curse word with a series of other expletives. They both knew they had to get to the bottom of the fake fragment and the only way to do that would be to entertain their company as much as possible. Worse, they had only a few weeks to get to the bottom of the mystery. Even if they could have afforded to stay close by the Baines siblings it would have been difficult to justify and they still had duties to their friends in the Sengoku Period. Inu Yasha had more to say about the situation.

"I know you're going to say we can't go charging around looking for the fragment, so don't bother. You would have said something if you had any sense of where the fragment was, I know, so don't say that either. But there is no way in hell I'm gonna let you go off with that fucking bastard Shiro alone. Don't you dare say that, you hear me?"

The miko gaped, take out all the swearing and he had practically read her mind, right down to the concern that she might have to spend more alone time with Shiro.

"Look, I don't like it any more than you do but we might have to."

"No! No fucking way." His golden eyes burned with anger, his arms crossed obstinately over his chest. "What if he makes a move on you and I'm not there again? Huh? What if he tries…" here he choked on his words, unwilling to describe the possible scenarios that flooded his mind. If Ikume turned out to be some sort of demon in disguise he would have no problem dispatching her on his own, however Kagome had no claws of steel or abilities to heal. More so than even that, if Shiro turned out to be a demon then he might take her like Kouga. Nothing had happened to her then, sure, but Shiro obviously did not care about demonic code. Shiro certainly did not follow the unwritten laws between fellow demons and their mates. There had been no challenge to the death over her, as with Kouga. The wolf-demon would not claim her unless Inu Yasha had been killed. Demons were feral, but they weren't all without honor. He could not say that though, instead he ended, "What if he tries…some-some… funny business on you? Huh? How am I supposed to protect you?"

Even with all his scowling it was impossible for Kagome to miss the apprehensive look on his face. She put on her bravest smile before she replied.

"We'll figure something out. I won't go off alone anywhere without you unless we have some sort of contingency plan, okay?"

He grunted his approval and the miko took this as a sign that she could continue.

"For now, we have a couple of opportunities to get Shiro and Ikume to talk. There's the pool party tomorrow night and the masquerade in a week. If Ikume's anything like Shiro then she'll probably arrange a date or two in the meantime. There'll probably be more parties or dinners, too. I think we should try and see if Ikume and Shiro will double date, too, that way we don't have to separate. Shiro doesn't seem to like you off somewhere alone with Ikume so I think it'll be easy enough to convince him. We still need to figure out how and why they're creating fake Shikon shards."

"And where." Inu Yasha added. Kagome concurred.

"I don't want to do this… but I guess I'm going to have to accept these gifts. If I turn them down it might be hard to stay on Shiro's good side…"

Suddenly curious, the hanyou stepped past her to the coffee table and inspected the larger gift box that remained unopened. He sniffed surreptitiously at it and then slashed off the bow with a claw.

"What the hell is this?"

The dog-demon came up from the opened box with a small blue piece of fabric. Kagome quickly realized he was holding a swimsuit (and a skimpy one from the obvious lack of fabric) and snatched it out of his hands. She knew she was blushing but could not regain her calm as she turned the swimsuit this way and that. It took her several seconds to find out which end was the front and she could barely picture what it would look like in her mind's eye. The miko was seriously reconsidering how far she wanted to go for a fake Shikon fragment.

Her furious blushing fueled Inu Yasha's curiosity. He had easily deduced that the cloth in her hand was far more revealing than the one she wore to bathe in the Sengoku period. He had to practice some serious tact if he wanted to convince her to wear it—besides, he reasoned mentally, if Shiro attempted to make a move at the party then he could beat him down. Simple, really.

"Well, you're the one who said you needed to keep the gifts to stay on his good side…"

"Yeah, but-but this is…"

"Oh so now you're going back on what you just said a minute ago? I have to deal with Ikume blowing my eardrums to hell while acting all 'gentlemanly' and all you have to do is wear a swimsuit?" He turned his back to her and put his hands up behind his head for effect before nailing her with his last comment.

"Feh. Women: all talk no action."

The living area seemed to rise several degrees all of a sudden and he swore the air smelled of sulfur. He allowed himself a small grin. Without seeing her face he already knew she had taken the bait. He was fucking brilliant!

"Fine! I'll wear it. I'm a liberated woman."

The gods had been on Inu Yasha's side that day.

-

The rest of the day went by without further incident.

-

The thoughts of a modern-day miko and a youkai from antiquity were numerous and varied as they tried to get to sleep that night:

Inu Yasha crashed on the couch again. His mind was filled with possibilities and never lingered on any one particular musing for very long. The hanyou had stopped just short of begging Kagome to try on the new bathing suit before the pool party (for inspection purposes, of course) to make sure it wasn't ripped or anything. She flatly refused. In the end he decided that he could wait another day because he had an overactive imagination to visualize what the tiny garment might look like on her. He considered all sorts of wild designs as he slipped away into the land of dreams.

As Kagome tried to fall asleep her thoughts focused mostly on lists. For an hour she laid on her back and ticked off on her fingers every possible motive the Baines family could have for creating fake Shikon fragments. However, none of them seemed sensible. The fact of the matter was that a demon had never been spotted in her modern world. If demons were still lurking about in Japan they certainly did not need Shikon fragments for empowerment. It just was not adding up. With a frustrated sigh the miko flipped onto her side, pulled the covers up to her cheek and shut her mind down. She was getting nowhere fast in her thoughts, anyway. Twenty minutes later Kagome slipped into a deep, yet troubled sleep.


	9. No Dogs in the Pool

-*-

You guys are freakin' awesome! I've had some reviewers give me excellent ideas for the upcoming chapters and again I implore you all to keep the ideas coming! One reviewer I suspect is catching on to what direction I might be going in with the Baines siblings, which is totally cool. I'm sure another reviewer is going to see that I've used their idea.

One quick note: I know there's a back story somewhere that talks about Inu Yasha's dad but these events precede that, so I'm assuming he thinks his dad is scum at the moment.

Note to self: It is day five.

-*-

The daylight hours on the advent of the pool party were spent on reconnaissance. Their first order of business was to head to a book store barely a block away from the hotel. The two poured over books detailing the Baines family but learned little more than what Shiro had already told Kagome. Local newspapers indicated that both parents had held lavish birthday parties and press pictures showed a couple who looked their age. Had the Baines been immortal demons or half-demons they ought to have looked the same age as their own children. The miko even tried the tabloids and found nothing. Reynard Baines and Atsuko Baines were practically saints. They were renowned for their generous contributions to charities.

Inu Yasha had discovered in one of the papers that the hotel event they were currently attending had been awarded to deserving honors' students recommended by the faculty of various schools. They were practically venerated saints!

"Kagome," The hanyou began, "I don't think these people are demons. I've never heard of any demons who shared their wealth."

"What about your father?"

"I don't remember anything about him," His voice was cold as ice "But demons aren't above taking who and what they want. Giving is another story."

Stormy blue pools swept to meet his gaze. Inu Yasha knew it well. It was the mysterious look she gave him at random. At first, he had assumed it was pity, like the look Kikyo used to give him when he talked about his past. He knew better now but still had no clue what the look really meant. The dog-demon did not mind because he could always take a brief second to stare back. As long as he scowled right after she would never know how much he liked getting lost in her eyes for that very brief moment.

The second was up.

He scowled, "What are you looking at, huh?"

Her eyes darted away, her face flushed. The moment was over.

Inu Yasha snatched Kagome's fifth tabloid newspaper from her fingers. With a start the miko looked from the hanyou to the bookstore windows nearby where the sun had just begun to set. She stood up with a gasp.

"Oh! It's getting late. We've got to hurry back to the hotel or we'll miss the party!"

The two rushed off.

---

"Kagome! What the hell is taking so damn long?"

The dog-demon paced back and forth in the bedroom. He could barely hear the miko fussing in the bathroom. Normally, he would have been able to hear her every muttered breath, even her heartbeat. Tonight, though, things were different. His ears were inefficiently located at the sides of his head. Over the past few hours his ears had rounded, and the downy white fur had become tanned skin. Amber eyes had faded to orange and then deepened to a chocolate brown. The very last thing to change over entirely had been his hands. Thirty minutes earlier they had been weakened, yet still dangerous, claws of steel. Now, they were pathetic, rounded stubs. The demon—no, human—doubted that he could dent wood with his current nails. As he pondered the consistency of his fingernails the bathroom doorknob turned.

To Inu Yasha's dismay the miko emerged in a strange wrapped dress that had the same consistency of the fuzzy white cloth she used to towel off after bathing in the Sengoku period. Before he could comment she had already breezed past him, snatched up her keycard, slipped on a pair of sandals, and headed for the door. He followed behind her, disappointed that he would not get to see the skimpy suit.

The elevator ride up two floors to the exercise and pool area was awkwardly silent. Kagome kept her eyes trained on the floor the entire time and he assumed she was still lost in thought over the fake fragment and the Baines' family connection.

When the large metal doors pinged open to the correct floor the two stepped out. The half-demon walked partially ahead of her. Sounds of laughter and merriment echoed off the tall ceilings and high walls. He could smell a fragrance that Kagome identified as 'chlorine,' it seemed to permeate the air. For the second time in his life he was glad he was a human for the night. The chlorine would have made him terribly sick had his sensitive dog-demon nose been working.

To his left a large, glassed-in area contained various torture racks that made him extremely concerned. Kagome just laughed and called them 'workout machines.' It was very unsettling, but he accepted it. The doors straight ahead of him were also glass, past them was a perfectly rectangular pool tiled in the most unnatural shade of blue he had ever seen. The tiles made the water sapphire blue, like a massive, rectangular jewel. When they opened the doors the chlorine smell was ten times stronger but now he was fairly used to it. The couples had all gathered at the opposite end of the pool around the Baines siblings.

"I have an announcement to make!"

Shiro began as the two hurried to join the throng of onlookers. Inu Yasha could not help but think if the man smiled and bigger that his face might split apart.

"First of all, welcome to our little pool party, thank you all for coming." Applause greeted his ears, then died down as he cleared his throat to continue, "My announcement for you all is that my father, Reynard, is going to be gracing our little masquerade ball!"

There was a collective gasp and murmurs between the couples about the huge celebrity. The man was in no way a recluse. In fact, from what Kagome had researched, Reynard loved to make cameos at his own benefits. The half-demon shot a glance in his companion's direction. From the expression on her face he could tell she was deep in thought processing the news. They would have to discuss the ramifications of the new development later. It would be a bad idea to try and speak about such things in a public place with Shiro and Ikume only steps away.

Ikume spoke, "Well, that's all guys. Now let's party!"

Immediately music began to thump in the background and lights inside the pool began to flicker in beat with the music, changing the color of the water to various hues, emerald one second, hot pink the next, azure again, and then yellow. The hanyou gazed at the water, entranced momentarily until he realized the miko was no longer at his side. For a moment he felt a spike of panic. His fear quickly transformed to shock as his brown eyes landed on the form of a girl in a familiar blue balling up the towel-dress in her hands.

The swimsuit she wore bore little resemblance to the one Kagome normally sported. The sky blue suit sported several ties. The top-half tied around the back of her neck in a halter which trailed down her front in two separate strips of cloth that combined into a single strip a few inches above her navel. From there the strip met with a small bikini bottom. What Inu Yasha found particularly interesting was the lack of sides on the swimsuit. Instead, some straps crisscrossed her back, under her arms, and attached to the sides of the strips that covered her bosom. Another short strap in between her breasts kept the two parts of the halter from opening to reveal anything more.

"Ahem. Eyes up here, boy."

Reluctantly, the dog-demon fixed his gaze away from her body to her face. At that moment Shiro chose to stroll up to her. In one swift movement he swept a blue and white sarong around her hips and tied it on the side.

"My God, you look lovely." He proclaimed. "It's perfect on you. I meant to give you this at lunch time but I couldn't find you anywhere. I apologize, I did not want you to have to trounce around exposed. All the boys might snatch you away."

She stepped away from him and closer to the half-demon who glowered at Shiro. She was grateful he couldn't growl because he would have been doing it quite loudly.

"You have a lot of guts to touch her like that…" He began.

"We can't have all these men with their raging hormones staring." Shiro coolly replied.

Kagome faintly detected the soft pop of Inu Yasha's knuckles. He was getting ready to give the man a swift beating. Without thinking her hand shot out, fingers curling around his wrist. His anger subsided by a small fraction as he watched Shiro's bright blue eyes fix on her hand. That was enough to encourage the hanyou to reach an arm out (dislodging her fingers) and wrap it around her shoulders. He pulled her close to his side. A triumphant smirk spread across his lips as the blonde man's eyes narrowed and a brief frown marred his pretty boy features.

"There you are!" A shriek of delight shattered his triumphant mood.

Ikume bounced over to the three of them, snatching up the dog-demon's free hand. The move further irritated Shiro.

"You have got to come over and meet my new friends." She bubbled. "I told them all about our date. You acted just like a prince!"

Kagome had an extremely difficult time hiding a derisive snort that threatened to come loose. The miko was jangled out of the hanyou's grasp as Ikume yanked the startled man's hand, pulling him towards a gaggle of girls in bikinis. Shiro took the opportunity to whisk the girl away in a different direction. She glanced towards Inu Yasha who managed to quickly meet her gaze, allowing her to nod that everything was okay. She would make sure Shiro did not allow her to leave.

"So, I see you wore my gift. It looks good on you."

She absently ran her fingers through her hair. "Yes, it's very nice."

"What about the bracelet and necklace?"

Kagome had thought carefully about what she would say next before she replied, "They were lovely—but, the pendant you gave me is broken. That gemstone is in pieces."

She had gone to a lot of trouble to choose her words well. The response did not imply that she had touched the gem. If he asked if she had touched it then it was highly probable that he knew a miko's contact with a fake Shikon fragment would make it shatter. That would then imply some demonic knowledge. His response raised more questions.

"I've never heard of any gemstone to be that fragile. It didn't seem like that when I had it set…"

Bright blue eyes closed in thought for a moment before he continued, "…Hmm. You said the stone broke, right?" She nodded, his eyes remained shut; a wrinkle formed over one eyebrow. Suddenly they opened and he snapped his fingers.

"I know. God, I'm such an idiot!"

"What?" She asked, more confused than ever.

"My mother warned me about this, she said it's happened before to some of her other friends. When you send an expensive gift through room service occasionally the staff will steal the stones out of the jewelry settings and swap them with glass. Luckily for you and I the fake stone must have shattered after it was replaced. Ah! I'm such a fool! I'll make sure I tell mother tonight so she can have the staff investigated right away."

He grasped her hand and gave it a pat.

"I'm so sorry to ask this of you, you'll think I'm being terribly rude. Could you give me the bracelet and necklace back? I need to check and make sure the thief did not replace the chains as well. I'd hate to find out your pretty skin turned green from some cheap knock-off's rust."

His concern seemed too genuine to be anything else. It was clear to her that he was not aware of the power of the Shikon fragments, real or fake. Many questions came to mind but the only thing that shouted back was a single thought: why couldn't he just have been a demon? This would have been so much easier if he was just a stupid demon!

"Should I send it back through room service?" She asked.

"No, no. The person responsible might get tipped off. No. Would you mind coming out to breakfast with me tomorrow and giving it to me then? That way none of the staff will get suspicious. Mom told me that the person who drops it off isn't always the one responsible; sometimes a senior member of the staff will let a lesser person take the fall to save their own skin. I won't have an innocent person fired."

The look on his face made her even less inclined to believe that Shiro was a demon. Letting peons take the fall and asking questions later was far more normal for demons. Still, she had to ask some questions, just to be sure.

"Why not call the police?"

"Mom has been teaching me how to run the hotels for when she retires. She says the best way to catch these thieves is to hire a private detective. The police are notorious for making a scene and I wouldn't want staff getting tipped off. Again, I really don't want a blameless person to get arrested because the real culprit got spooked."

"Well, all right. I'll do it, but Inu Yasha is coming with. He's seen it, too."

Shiro nodded. "Yes, I'd better bring Ikume along, too. She'll need to know about this."

It was a strange thing to Kagome. The only Shiro Baines she knew was the smooth-talking womanizer. Right now the Shiro before her was a completely different person. He did not seem the least concerned for himself; instead he cared what happened to his mother's hotel staff.

A loud splash and a yelp diverted their attention. They were just in time to see Ikume jump into the water behind the first person. The Marilyn Monroe-wannabe had pushed her prince into the pool after he had begun to grow bored with the conversation about how amazing he was. Sure, massaging his ego was fine with him but he would have been more interested had Kagome been the one gushing about him. Even though the dog-demon happened to be human at the moment his reflexes were still good enough to snag the girl's hand and yank her into the water with him.

At the bottom of the pool Inu Yasha crossed his arms and sat there for a short while, pouting. He could see Ikume make an immediate move to the surface. The water was disturbed again. This time a familiar figure appeared through the cloud of bubbles, her eyes were full of concern until they focused. Kagome scowled at him as she realized he was not drowning but pouting. He gave her a big goofy smile and she crossed her arms over her chest and tried to sit him but got a mouthful of water instead. With a victorious grin he returned to the surface with her.

The two broke the surface of the water at the same time. As soon as he had taken in a breath she looked right at him and tried to sit him again. He was prepared. Two hands shot out of the water, clamped down onto her head, and pushed her back down. Kagome had no chance to get the word out; however she was able to grab the rosary around his neck and give it a good yank, forcing the hanyou to follow her under.

For a second time they came up for air. She gave him a long, hard look and he was sure he'd be sent straight to the bottom of the pool via rosary. Instead, the miko burst into laughter. Without realizing it, his own laughter joined hers. Kagome had never heard him laugh so openly before and she found it incredibly attractive. Before she knew it his laughter had died down and he had begun to eye her suspiciously.

"What?"

With a start she realized she had been staring at him with a silly smile similar to the one the half-demon had sported not too long ago.

"Oh, nothing," She replied.

"Nothing my ass," was his impertinent response.

Seconds later a set of hands had moved around her waist. A surprised gasp slipped from her lips as she was lifted from the pool up over the hanyou's head and then back down into the water on the other side. At the same time several more couples jumped into the pool. The miko returned to the surface sputtering water. In response, she leapt onto his back in an attempt to force him under the water with her own weight. Inu Yasha did not move. What she had not noticed was that they had been slowly moving to a shallower end of the pool and unfortunately for her he could now easily touch the bottom of the pool. When she jumped onto his back he had no room to sink. This, however, did not prevent him from lying backwards in the water forcing her to either give up her place on his back to avoid him or stay put. She chose to stay where she was, hooking her legs around his so that his knees buckled, sending him down with her.

They separated and surfaced. He cracked his knuckles, ready to pounce but she raised her hands and laughed.

"Okay, okay, you win!"

"Of course I win." He replied haughtily.

The rest of the pool party went by quickly. The two companions secretly wished it had not. The dog-demon had not had so much pure, non-violent fun in a long time and was surprised by how much he had missed it. He only vaguely remembered playing as a child with his mother and somehow the party had tapped into those lost memories. Kagome, too, was having fun. She was seeing a side of Inu Yasha that she had barely experienced. The most fun he allowed himself usually involved tearing demons apart, teasing Shippo, or poking fun at Miroku. She knew that once the pool party was over they would have to return to serious discussion. The Shikon jewel was practically a plague on her life. It seemed that the shards and their enemies were all they could ever hope think about. For the briefest of moments the two could afford a break from it all.

They lived for it.

-

Unfortunately, the party had to come to an end. It was not until the end of the party that the two realized that Ikume and Shiro had vanished. Neither could remember when they had left the party. Their absence was punctuated by the fact that an attendant gave a closing speech on the siblings' behalf. At that time it was also announced that the couples would be spending time at an amusement park in a few days.

Kagome briefed Inu Yasha on her conversation with Shiro only after the elevator attendant had let them off on their floor and the metal doors had cheerily chimed closed behind them. He was just as surprised as she that Shiro had no obvious knowledge of the Shikon fragment, yet he had somehow procured a false one. They now had to consider that someone on the hotel staff could be a demon.

They also had to consider that a private detective would also be haunting the staff so questioning anyone in the hotel outright would be out of the question. It had the potential to raise suspicious between the staff, the Baines, or the investigator. Rather, it was agreed that all information would have to be gleaned from Shiro and Ikume.

-

Sleep came surprisingly easy to the two. Kagome had expected to spend many a wakeful hour that night pondering the new set of questions that arose now that Shiro and Ikume seemed to be ruled out as suspected demons. Inu Yasha still complained they 'smelled funny' but she found herself attributing his misgivings to perfume and shampoo rather than demonic aura or scent. Instead, the miko found her mind concentrated on the party. She realized she had not had that much fun in a long while. The hanyou had been _fun_ to be around. It was a novel thought. She even let herself consider a possible future with the dog-demon. If he could be as much fun as he was that night, then it followed that he might be able to live peaceful life after the Shikon jewel was completed. Dreams of a less improbable future quietly drew her to the land of unconsciousness.

Inu Yasha crashed on the couch. Out like a light. He had pushed his human body quite rigorously at the party and so, he slept the deep, dreamless sleep of the exhausted ones.


	10. Corkscrews and Demons

-*-

No many notes this time, really. I'm very grateful for all the ideas from reviewers. Keep them coming and thank you so much for reading! I'm also sending a special shout-out to Nekomata and Amaranth for their great advice and support. You two have been a huge help. Thank you so much!

A note on gift-giving: I'm not a huge stickler for Japanese tradition in fan-fiction and I'm certainly not an expert. However, the gift-giving tradition is such an obvious one that it would be pretty out of character for the characters to not conform to it. Even though Shiro and Ikume are half-European it would be common sense to assume that their mother would have taught them that kind of social politeness.

Yeah, you know how I said not many notes? Okay, I lied: Another thing I'm pointing out is that I love roller coasters. So… yeah… I apologize if I geek out a little.

One more note: A Biwa is like a Japanese lute and a Kokyu is a traditional instrument played with a bow.

-*-

The morning found the two companions having breakfast with Shiro, Ikume and a private investigator. The man took careful notes and studied their faces intently. It made Kagome more than a little nervous. She wondered if the man could tell that she was not being entirely honest about the jewel. The miko was only slightly relieved when his questions focused on a description of the staff member who had turned in the gift box.

The investigator looked so _normal_. He was a very average-looking, middle-aged Japanese man with no single physical feature that made him stand out. She quickly realized that was probably what made him such a good detective. What person would look twice at the man? After all the information was exchanged the investigator quietly requested to be excused.

Once he was gone Shiro explained, "Mother says he prefers to get started right away. We might have some more information by tomorrow. He's very good."

He reached out and gave Kagome's hand a pat.

"I'm so sorry about all this. From now on I'm going to give you gifts in person."

"Oh, really, Shiro" the miko began, "I don't deserve all these gifts…"

"Of course you do!"

The shout came from not one, but two men—Inu Yasha and Shiro. They glared at each other for a few minutes. Ikume gave a short, derisive sniff. She was none too happy about her prince and her brother lavishing so much attention on some stupid girl. Kagome shook her head and sighed, wondering what aura she oozed that attracted the boys to her like flies to honey. Ikume came to the rescue.

"Well if you guys are done flirting with each other I'm going to go. Come along, Kagome."

"Wha--? Why me?" She rose out of her chair without thinking.

Ikume trained her shimmering blue eyes on her, finding her gray-blue pools to be so very boring, what did Shiro see in that girl?

"Why, mask shopping, of course!" She replied.

Kagome looked nonplused. With a slow, pained sigh the blonde spelled it out for her, "The masquerade ball?"

There was a collective 'oh' from everyone. Shiro grabbed his jacket and looked at the half-demon.

"I guess that means we ought to go get ours, too. I don't know about you but I can't sit around waiting for Mr. Kei to bring news."

Before Inu Yasha could argue Ikume had already taken up Kagome's hand and, half skipping, dragged her out the diner's front door. The boys had been left behind to eye each other suspiciously.

-

The Baines sibling hummed a tune as she shepherded the miko into a limo. As soon as they were inside she released her hand, choosing to sit directly across the car from Kagome.

"So… tell me about my prince."

The priestess could not resist a small chuckle. "Inu Yasha?"

She bobbed her head several times an affirmative.

"Well, he's ill-tempered most of the time, possessive, sometimes violent, doesn't get along well with new people—"

"—So you two aren't dating?" Ikume interrupted.

"I…well… I don't know." She was taken aback by the question until an answer unexpectedly left her lips, "It's not like he's ever asked."

The blonde pondered her response for a moment. "Hmm… So, my prince hasn't told you he likes you because he's too shy."

"What? What gave you that impression?"

Unnaturally blue eyes locked on hers, and she gave Kagome a withering look.

"Oh please. That whole protective and aggressive thing is just an act! Shiro acts like that in front of me all the time because I'm his baby sister. You're obviously not his sister so there's got to be another reason why he's like that."

"Well, yeah because he has to protect me—er…he feels like he has to, anyway."

The confession caused the woman to raise a well-manicured eyebrow. Then, the woman said something that caused her mind to spin.

"Did you ever ask how he feels?"

"Did-did…I …what?"

Ikume gave a derisive snort and sat back in her seat, "You're pretty selfish."

Kagome was flabbergasted. Had she really been selfish? Had she assumed all this time that he did not want her when she had never asked? Feeling victorious, Ikume allowed the miko to stew on the trip to the jewelers. At the store the girl was handed a note from one of the salespeople. She huffed and stomped her feet like a small child. Kagome later discovered that Shiro would not allow Ikume to pick something out, "in poor taste." In a foul mood, Ikume bought up several extremely expensive jewelry pieces and put them on Shiro's tab before taking Kagome back to the hotel.

-

Back at the hotel Ikume stared daggers into Shiro while Kagome and Inu Yasha gave each other confused looks. They sized each other up; both apparently full of internal questions neither were willing to vocalize. Without so much as a thank you, the hanyou dragged the miko off to their room.

Once they were safely on their floor he blurted out.

"We need to talk."

The stormy blue eyes peered up into his golden ones. For a second the great half-demon was afraid he might stutter like a fool.

"I'm taking you to the masquerade. So tell that moron no when he asks." He looked away from her eyes before adding quietly, "If you want."

They stood in front of the elevator, Kagome gave a curious smile.

"Inu Yasha, are you asking me out on a date?"

"What the hell kind of question is that? Yes, or no, damn it. I'm not asking you again!" He growled and stomped away from her to the door to their room. He fumbled around in his jeans pockets for his key card, cursing tight pants before shouting back.

"J-just forget it!"

"Yes."

He nearly dropped the card, "What?"

"Yes, Inu Yasha. I would like that…very much."

She said it so quietly and in such a shy voice that had he not had his sensitive ears back he might not have heard. The miko was only steps away from him, and she looked down at her fingers, playing with them. The dog-demon wondered if he had heard correctly. He was certain the question should have had a more complicated answer. His relief soon transformed into smug satisfaction as another thought struck him.

While he and Shiro were out, the human had grilled him for information about Kagome. When the dog-demon had inquired the reason for such things the idiot had boldly (or suicidal) told him that he was intending to ask her out. Inu Yasha immediately told the impertinent bastard that he might as well give up because she was not stupid enough to go out with an idiot like him. Shiro had laughed in his face and proclaimed that a fool like him could not possibly afford to lavish the gifts upon her that he could. Then the hanyou countered that his woman was not shallow enough to be swayed by petty gifts and that, in fact, he needed no gifts to get a date with her.

The second Inu Yasha had made the challenge to Shiro he regretted it. He was positive that Kagome would not accept his invitation. Gifts were required to court any woman, he knew that. Yet, here he was: a half-demon with no home territory or money and yet, she had accepted his request. It blew him away. She deserved much better

…but it still felt damn good to have triumphed over Shiro.

"Inu Yasha?" Her voice shattered his thoughts, "Can we go inside now?"

He grunted an apology, kicked himself mentally, and let her in.

-

The next few days went by at a lazy pace. Shiro and Ikume were far too busy organizing the events for the amusement park to cause any trouble for the couple. Shiro was so busy that he did not bring Kagome any gifts except to have several bouquets sent to their room. The two spent most days at the nearby park or at the movies. The dog-demon had become a huge fan of action flicks and thrillers. They spent their nights discussing films they had seen and on long explanations of how amusement parks worked, what roller coasters were, and that all the rides were not demons or torture devices.

-

The day finally came to go out to the amusement park. The guests first gathered in the lobby at the instructed hour and from there were ushered into limousines. Having been in limos several times by this point Inu Yasha was eager to look out the darkened windows. He watched the scenery seemingly float by, gradually picking up speed as they reached the highway. The buildings became less and less crammed together and the landscape began to look far similar to the countryside he knew. The only difference was the smattering of modernized, yet in many cases still traditional-looking houses, which peeked through the greenery.

Strange, snake-like brightly colored metal skeletons suddenly appeared through the trees as they rounded a bend in the highway. A few of the couples turned to look through the windows facing the park side. Kagome had tried to explain what the tracks of the roller coasters would look like but he did not quite imagine them as twisted metal spinal chords. The dog-demon found them both chilling and fascinating all at once.

He lost sight of the roller coasters as the vehicles threaded their way past an off-ramp, then the parking lot, and finally stopped at a drop-off zone. The familiar figures of Shiro and Ikume could be made out, welcoming the guests into the park.

"Thank you all for coming," Shiro began, "I'm glad to see you here and I hope you all have fun." He paused when some couples began to clap; then continued when everyone was quiet. "We've reserved the park for guests only so there will be no lines for any of the rides."

Some men in the crowd whooped and Ikume began to pass out maps of the park to each guest. After everyone had received a map and had taken a moment to look them over Shiro added,

"Lunch will be served at the Magnolia Pavilion—it's marked on your maps—and then at six we'll meet here to head back to the hotel. We hope you have fun, guys, we'll see you at lunch!"

Everyone dispersed while Shiro headed for Kagome. He took one of her hands in both of his and bowed slightly to her.

"I'm sorry I haven't been able to give you your gifts but I had the jewelry checked twice." He produced a box that was similar to the one he had originally sent her. As was the custom, the miko accepted the gift but did not open it. Instead, she gently placed the box in her purse to open later, proclaiming the gift to be 'too much' and 'too kind' of him. Inu Yasha gagged inwardly.

"So, what happened?" The miko inquired.

He looked around to make sure the rest of the guests were gone before he spoke.

"Well, the investigator has said it's fairly early to tell but it looks like the stone wasn't swapped. It just broke on its' own. The chains have not been tampered with either."

She pretended to look confused, though she was not terribly surprised at the news.

Shiro continued, "As far as he can tell he says it looks like the primary staff is not involved. It's going to take a day or so longer to find out whether or not the upper-tier staff had anything to do with it." He paused, noticing one of the chauffeurs approaching him from the side. He quietly added. "I'll tell you more at lunch. We'll be dining privately."

With that the male Baines sibling excused himself from the group and went off to speak with the driver. Ikume remained behind.

"I've got something to tell you, as well, Inu Yasha."

The hanyou had been trying so hard to look disinterested during Shiro's conversation that he was startled when the blonde had spoke.

"What?"

She stood before him with a coy smile. "I'm not telling until lunch. I'll see you then!"

With that she skipped away. The dog-demon was perplexed.

"What the hell was that about?"

"I don't know, maybe she'll tell you more about the shard?" Kagome replied.

"So then… I have to go, don't I?"

She nodded, and he groaned. "I was having a pretty damned good week, too…"

The miko shook her head and opened her map after a quick check of the time.

"Well, Inu Yasha, where to?"

-

The half-demon's first choice had been to ride the tallest, fastest rollercoaster he could identify by sight. Kagome was only slightly thankful to know that it wasn't technically the tallest coaster there because that one had a portion of the track running underground which the hanyou could not see. Initially, when she first fell into the well, she could not so much as look at a rollercoaster without feeling anxious. However, as of late, she had become so used to riding on the hanyou's back that the ride did not seem quite so terrifying. At least she would not have to brave the ups and downs without a safety harness or an enormous (and often hungry) demon close on their heels.

The location of the ride, named "Suzaku," just happened to be on the other side of the park. Walking the entire way had been near-torture for the dog-demon. He constantly argued with her about the lack of efficiency when walking like a human. They could have been at the coaster already and have gone on it a second time!

By the time they reached the entrance for the ride Kagome was in a far less cheery mood. She was fairly certain that if Inu Yasha complained one more time that one of her ears might fall off. Thankfully, there was no ridiculously long line to further dampen her spirits. Her companion scoffed at the number of hallways and turnstiles they were forced to pass through to get to the main station. She tried to explain to him that theme parks were normally packed every day but he would not be swayed in his conviction that line partitions were a silly waste of space.

The loading area included two other couples who had arrived at the same time. It was a steel inverted rollercoaster so the seats hung below the track. Inu Yasha marveled at the sight. The bones of the dead demon (though it did not smell like one) were being used to propel people at a fast rate along its spine.

The biggest challenge turned out to be getting a Sengoku period demon strapped in to the seat. He asked numerous times if he could simply hold on, rather than put the safety harness down. There was another awkward moment when Kagome could not explain how the buckle attached to the shoulder harness hooked into the seat at a clasp between his legs. When he couldn't figure out how the seat belt buckle worked she had to reach between his legs and buckle him in herself, blushing furiously the entire time. He nearly scared another attendant when they came to check that his harness and buckles were all locked in and the man had to tug on the belt buckle, as per safety procedure. Thankfully, the hanyou could not reach around the substantial shoulder restraints to belt the guy for what he thought was going to be some perverted grab. The miko apologized profusely, claiming he had an itch and jerked suddenly, to her relief they bought it and within seconds the car began its ascent.

Inu Yasha looked about, unable to contain his intense interest as the car creaked its way up the slope. He was almost as impressed with the view from the air as much as he had been of the view from the hotel window. The dog-demon concluded that the hotel view was better because it was a little higher than the apex of the ride.

After ages (thirty seconds is forever to an impulsive demon) they reached the peak, there was a slight dip in the track and then, slowly, ever so slowly, the car moved to the edge—and then plunged.

Kagome had become so used to the spins and turns holding on to Inu Yasha's back that she surprised herself with her own lack of fear. The couple who had arrived at the same time with them included a woman who screamed like a little girl. The dog-demon gave a war whoop and cheered. He was having a blast.

The ride was over far too soon for the hanyou. As soon as he jumped off the ride he wanted to get on it again. She obliged several times before suggesting they try other rides. As they walked to the next ride Inu Yasha babbled on excitedly about the speed and intensity of the ride. The miko was more amused by his child-like thrill rather than how fun the ride happened to be.

After several more rides the two reluctantly made their way to the Magnolia Pavilion for lunch. Shiro met them at the door and whisked Kagome away to a private table away from Inu Yasha's sight. Ikume appeared moments later and dragged the fuming demon off.

At their own private booth Ikume sat with her elbows on the table and her hands in her face, staring intently at him with big smile on her face. It disturbed him. After several seconds of nothing the dog-demon could no longer stand the silence.

"So what is it you want?"

Ikume frowned at her prince's brusque question; she did not realize he was more concerned with his true companion. He hoped Shiro did not have any bad news. He'd had a good time so far—despite Ikume—and though it went his better judgment, prayed it might last a little longer. So far her scent did not have the aroma of fear, so that was a good sign. An obnoxious voice interrupted his musings.

"Well, Inu Yasha. It's a fact that you are my soul mate. So, you have to ask me to the ball."

That caught him off guard. He had not expected her to say that at all. He thought her to be quite odd. She had barely known him for little more than a week, yet she had proclaimed him her soul mate. She was quite strange. He felt a funny thrill in his heart as his reply slipped out.

"I'm sorry but I already asked Kagome."

Saying it felt so very natural it almost scared him. It disturbed him even more to realize he was quite happy with the notion that Kagome might really be his. It seemed like he should have cared more about the fact that it meant she had filled the place in his heart that Kikyo had left behind. Ikume was sputtering. Apparently, she'd never been turned down before.

"Y-you can't do that. It's not what I told you to do."

Something seemed to change for a moment, Kagome's scent in the air was no different but Ikume's was altered slightly. He realized that it seemed strangely familiar to him. He couldn't tell where though. If it lingered for a little bit longer he was sure he could tell. Ikume's chair scraped backwards suddenly and she stormed off. As quickly as it had come, the scent faded away. Inu Yasha remained at the table, his mind racing. He knew his senses would not lie to him. It was familiar, and he knew it came from someone in his time period, but whom? No, he realized, it was not a familiar scent because it was any particular person he already knew. It was someone who carried someone's scent traits.

"Shit. It's someone's whelp." He cursed out loud.

The dog-demon instantly knew why he could not recognize the sire. Any person he knew well enough could have taken a mate (though likely not a mortal to mortal bond) and that mate would have given his or her offspring the influence of their scent, combined with their partner's. That was why he could not even identify the original sire. The two combined to form one new unique, yet familiar signature for their children. The combination made it impossible to discern who the original parent could be that he knew. The only way he would know who or what he was dealing with would be to scent the original blood relation. It did not help that Ikume and Shiro had to have used something to mask their aroma to other demons. If the parent was also using a mask it would be extremely difficult to discern which parent was the relative he knew.

In nearly six or seven hundred years that person's face may have changed greatly. If they figured out how to mask scent then it was entirely possible that their appearances would be altered as well. All the new revelations were making his head nearly ache. Cold reality began to set it. The most obvious answer meant a demon—and just about every demon he knew was an enemy.

"Damn it. I have to talk to Kagome."

Inu Yasha knew Kagome would be able to help him narrow down the list of enemies (or potentially allies) which could be Shiro and Ikume's sire. She had the brains to think through everything that wouldn't process past his constant, torrential downpour of emotions which kept him from being a logistical thinker. He quickly rose from his chair and followed Kagome's scent until he reached her table. There was a man, dressed like one of the wait staff, who was playing a stringed instrument which reminded him of a Biwa. The man played the Biwa on his shoulder and its shape was distorted. He played it with a bow like a Kokyu, yet it was far too short for it to be that instrument, either. The music sounded very similar, too. However, the notes seemed less dramatically inclined. The hanyou had no clue that he was, in fact, listening to an Irish fiddle.

The miko had been listening to a romantically-themed tune until she became aware of Inu Yasha's figure standing behind the instrumentalist. She gave him a quizzical look. He had been distracted by the music momentarily but when he realized Kagome was watching him he sprang into action, grabbing her by the arm and hauling her up to her feet.

"We've got to go. I—uh…" It was in that moment that he realized he had not made up a good excuse to take off. That had always been Kagome's forte. Having seen the look of concern on his face the girl quickly came to his aid.

"Ah… Oh! Inu Yasha, there you are. I was just getting ready to leave. Shiro here has been trying to impress me to change my mind about who I would be going with to the masquerade. I keep telling him I already have a date."

Her fingers laced through his and she gave his hand a light squeeze. The dog-demon was speechless, Shiro fumed. Quickly regaining his bearings the hanyou was able to get a response out.

"Y-yeah. I already asked you." A brilliant thought crossed his mind as he gave a roguish smirk. "I guess you were a little too slow on the draw, Shiro."

His scent changed slightly at that moment confirming another one of the half-demon's theories. Whatever was masking the Baines siblings' scents could not hold up against strong, sudden emotional changes. Whatever they were using could not adjust to a sudden spike in energy. It confirmed that he was at least half demon. Demons were the only type of immortal who became stronger as their minds became more emotional. Inu Yasha was more powerful as a full demon; yet less in control of his own mind as a consequence. The aroma faded as Shiro regained his composure. With a sigh he stood from his seat and drew close to the hanyou.

"You may have beaten me to the punch but believe me, she'll know who is the better, more capable man in the end."

Kagome gave a derisive snort. It certainly was not a turn-on to be talked about like that right in front of her. Shiro's nerve gave her the courage to quickly stand up on her toes and kiss Inu Yasha's cheek. The two boys' jaws dropped.

"Come on, Inu Yasha. Let's go. I'm not listening to any more of this."

He gave a dumb nod, allowing the miko to lead him away. They walked in silence until they had left everyone behind, heading into a part of the theme park that appeared to be built for young children. None of the couples had children so no one would have been interested in coming to that part of the park. When the miko was sure there was no one around she wheeled on dog-demon. Her gray blue eyes studied him carefully. She looked angry.

"Is this some sort of competition between you two? Is that why you asked me the way you did?"

"N-no, well… Shiro did tell me before that he would ask you." The fear of an eminent sitting caused him to talk faster as Kagome placed her hand on her hips, a frown tugged at the corners of her lips. "But I…I wanted to." He ended lamely. Amber eyes turned away to look at the ground near her feet, afraid to look at her face. Everything was quiet.

There was the sound of a deep breath. The half-demon closed his eyes in preparation for a sit. Instead, a quiet voice came forth.

"Oh…well, then, okay."

He slowly trained an eye in her direction. She smiled shyly. He let out a relieved breath.

"I thought you were going to sit me. Let's keep walking. I've got a lot to tell you."

Inu Yasha recounted his revelations from lunch. His companion listened in silence, digesting all the information before she raised any questions. Finally when she could tell he was finished she spoke.

"Okay, so you're saying we've seen these demons' parents before somewhere. Wait, how come they smell different? You said I smell just like Kikyo."

The demon shook his head, "No, you're different. Kikyo never had a mate. When she died her soul was passed completely to you without ever having bonded to any other. Your scent never changed…Well… It's a little different…it's better."

She was quiet again, deep in thought. Finally, she spoke up.

"Okay, well, I'll need time to think. When we're at the hotel I'll make a list of the demons we know, which are dead… no… that won't work. We don't know which dead demons might have already had children. Ah! This is not good. Let's talk more about this when we get back.

Neither knew Shiro had been watching them from a distance. He kept down wind of Inu Yasha so he would remain undetected. A smirk spread across his lips, a plan forming in his mind for the masquerade.


	11. The Masquerade

-*-

Note: Most of you probably know this term but I'm still defining it just in case: "Gaijin" is a derogative term for a foreigner. Kind of like how some people call southerners "Rednecks."

I sew cosplay costumes in my free time so if I get a little technical with some of the clothing descriptions I apologize.

I know I didn't write much about the dance but I'm a terrible dancer and it's hard for me to picture it in my own mind. If I can't picture it, then it's difficult for me to describe. If you want me to elaborate later I'll need someone to help me write it. Also, if you've got some ideas for what they can do now that the masquerade is over I'd really appreciate it. Otherwise, I'm going to be forced to end this story soon.

-*-

It was just a day before the masquerade. Shiro had come by their hotel room with two gifts for Kagome, which she was instructed to leave unopened until the following day. He had told her it was her outfit. The jewelry she had received at the amusement park had not been fitted with fake Shikon fragments.

Inu Yasha had sniffed suspiciously at the new boxes before pronouncing them safe. He had tried in vain several times to open the box; curious to see what Shiro had planned to dress her in, but was sat so many times he gave up trying.

The dog-demon found it odd that Shiro did not try to ask her out again but decided towards the end of the day that her kiss had put him off. Hours after Kagome's mystery gown had arrived Inu Yasha's tuxedo was delivered. He doubted the tux could compete with the manliness of a traditional formal robe… but he was convinced he would look pretty damn good. He'd seen a gaijin guy named "Bond" wear one in one of the movies the miko had taken him to see and he had to admit he approved of the look.

Ikume never appeared at all.

-

The morning of the masquerade moved too slowly. The afternoon was no better, at three in the afternoon a member of the hotel staff requested that the two bring their garments to a specified conference room in a few hours' time. Kagome was instructed specifically to not wear or bring any make up and to wash her hair but not dry it. The hanyou's only order was to bring his suit.

Watching the woman scurry about the hotel room in the last few hours before the masquerade was a fascinating sight for the half-demon. Her distress gradually grew as she worried about what boxes needed to accompany her to the conference room. She was convinced several times that she had forgotten one thing or another. The last minutes before they had to depart were the worst.

As Kagome worked herself into a frantic tizzy he suddenly realized why it took the girl so long to leave her parent's house each time he came to take her off to the Sengoku period. All of Shiro's boxes were piled at the door—he knew for sure that all of them were there—but the miko continued to ask him if she had all the boxes. After the tenth time (he had amused himself by keeping count) the exasperated hanyou picked up all the boxes and his tux in a plastic protective barrier hung on a hanger. Without a word he walked right out the door. Minutes later a grumpy miko fell in step behind him.

The elevator ride was surprisingly relaxed. It was apparent that she had resigned herself to believe something was lost but would not argue it any further. When they got to the floor designated for conference meetings they were separated by attendants. Two conference rooms had become dressing areas, apparently split by gender.

Inu Yasha was fussed at by a man who helped him with the complicated buttons on his tux and then assisted with the bow tie. Fully dressed the dog-demon began to head for the door when he was stopped again by the same man. A moment later his long hair was tied low in the back with a band.

"There. That gives you more class."

Inu Yasha was not sure what that meant but an initial glance in the mirror confirmed in his mind that having more class was a good thing. Yes, he was quite the stud. He did not have much time to preen because another attendant arrived to assist with cufflinks and to give him his mask.

Kagome's experience was far more complicated. The girls were placed on a veritable assembly line of dressers, make up artists, and hair stylists. The first part of the line involved two dressers to each girl. They quickly helped each one into their dresses and then passed them off to the hair dressers. The second leg of the assembly line proved to be the longest one. The stylists mostly ignored their subjects in favor of a speedy up-do. It was clear the stylists were experts in their trade because none girls had any complaints for their styles. The last leg of the women's beautification involved make-up. The fancy dresses were carefully covered to protect the expensive silks and satins from falling powder. The artists also assisted the ladies with their various jewelry accessories. Lastly, each girl was ejected from her seat, cleaned up, and then helped into her shoes.

The girls were ushered out a back door and around to a set of large double doors. There, they were told to wait until they heard music. On the other side of the doors most of the men were lined up, waiting impatiently. Some of them were still being dressed or hung up on last-minute tailoring.

The music began and the doors burst open. A stream of girls in a rainbow of colors and shades came through. Kagome scanned the line of men until she picked out a familiar shape. The hanyou had been looking around, searching for her masked face until he quickly identified and then jogged to her. Amber eyes stared, taking in every detail of her figure. Without a word the half-demon took one of her gloved hands and led her out onto a balcony away from the crowd.

Back in the changing area Inu Yasha was still being fussed at. It seemed that the man with the cuff links had a serious case of the shakes. The attendant appeared to have the worst trouble keeping the tiny metal pieces in his hands. He would drop one part, stoop down, and then pick up another, babbling an incoherent apology. The dog-demon grew even more impatient as the men with wardrobe malfunctions were patched up and led out. Eventually, he and the attendant were the only two people left in the room. When his sensitive ears (taped down, but none the less working) picked up the sound of music he got fed up and abandoned the blubbering man.

On the balcony Kagome deserted her silent partner to jog up to the railing. She was awestruck by the fantastic view of the glittering city at night. The music hummed faintly in the background as her soundless partner followed behind. When he caught up to her he grasped her waist, smiling down at the blushing girl.

"Inu Yasha… what's gotten into you?"

The hanyou continued to smile. She could not help but feel that something about his smile was just a little different. The miko stifled the feeling, attributing it to his unusually direct approach.

Inu Yasha followed Kagome's scent away from the crowd until it met up with a familiar aroma, this time much stronger than he had known it to be. The pit of his stomach sank and grew cold. Shiro's scent led in the same direction as hers. His eyes fell on the open door to the balcony and he rushed towards it.

The half demon ignored Kagome's question. He raised a hand to cup her cheek and drew her closer to him. She felt her heart thud in her chest, elated that he was showing her the affection he barely exhibited. Still, something felt wrong. Part of her kept whispering that she should be suspicious. She studied his face and it hit her that his teeth were not quite right, there were no sharp fangs and his ears were human. That made no sense, Inu Yasha had already transformed and the timing was all off. Her hands moved against his chest and just as she was about to pull away someone shouted her name.

"Kagome!" The real Inu Yasha burst in.

Immediately his eyes locked on his own reflection holding his woman as he had always wished to. The sight of himself immediately conjured images of another time in place where someone had used his face to rip his heart away.

"Naraku spawn." He snarled and leapt towards the man.

He had not been able to bring the Tetsusaiga so he readied his claws. As the dog-demon moved at lightning speed towards the man the fake Inu Yasha stepped behind Kagome, yanking her towards his chest. The action caused the half demon to stop dead in his tracks. Claws curled at her throat, ready to strike if he got any closer.

"You would dare take my woman in the same manner? Did your scum bag father teach you that?" He roared. "I'll kill you!"

"Oh, come on. It was just a joke!" Shiro's voice rumbled behind her.

"Yeah it's all a fucking joke to you, Naraku-swine." Inu Yasha snapped back.

Shiro blinked, his image shifted back to the familiar blonde she knew, though his claws were no different. She had expected the man transform into Naraku, yet he kept the old form. Perhaps he did it to spite the dog-demon?

In the background people where applauding from within the ball room. Slowly the miko crossed her arms over her chest, her hands curled around her upper arm. One of her fingers slipped inside the cuff of her left glove, fingering an arrow head she had carefully attached to the inside the night before.

Shiro's claws crooked under her chin and forced her face up to look at him.

"I don't know what you see in him. I can provide you with so much more, you know?"

"Oh really? How? By killing and absorbing every living thing in sight? Sorry, that's not my idea of romantic." She scoffed.

"Absorb? What kind of power is that? It doesn't matter; I'll make you mine one way or another."

His face began to descend on hers, hers. Her fingers tightened on the arrowhead, she instinctively knew her companion was ready to strike the moment she made her move. It sickened her to think that her first kiss would be taken by a child of Naraku.

"That will be enough, Shiro."

A new voice halted the demon's advance. His blue eyes were wide in shock. The voice was right behind Shiro. She could barely see the face of the man behind the blonde but the voice was far older. Her heart sank. It had to be Naraku.

"But—agh!" Shiro gasped suddenly.

He released Kagome immediately, grasping the back of his neck where the man had torn away a tiny glowing shard.

"Let's show her your true form." The man said.

As he spoke there was a sudden plume of purple smoke where Shiro had been a moment ago. When it cleared she was shocked to see a little boy, who barely appeared twelve, with mahogany brown hair with similarly colored ears poking out at the top of his head. The tips of the ears had a tiny shock of blonde-tipped hair. His eyes were the same bright blue but his hands had become blonde-furred paws. His feet had also become blonde paws which became the same color as his hair at his haunches. Instead of the tuxedo, his clothes had been replaced with a traditional robe. The little boy whined.

"Dad! What'd you do that for?"

"Do you know who you were trying to kiss? This is your grandmother!" He snapped back.

For a moment the air changed, the dog-demon picked up a very familiar scent. Inu Yasha's frown suddenly transformed into raucous laughter.

"No, no. You're shitting me. Shippo?"

He clomped over to the two kitsune while Kagome gaped. It was his sandy, reddish-blonde hair, highlighted with shocks of gray, which she should have recognized. How had she missed it? When Inu Yasha was directly behind Shippo he clobbered him over the top of his head in his typical fashion. Familiar ears poked out from the top of his head, the face of a man in his forties was replaced with the image of a man closer to Inu Yasha's age. Shippo grimaced and rubbed his head.

"Sorry about that, mama."

"Mama?"

Kagome's cheeks got a little red until it clicked in her mind. She had very likely adopted Shippo at some point. He had no parents after all; it made sense.

"You're lucky I didn't kill your kid." Inu Yasha growled. "I thought he was Naraku with that damned stunt he pulled."

"I know, I'm sorry about my kin. They're a little spoiled. I'll be grounding him from this for a while." The fox-demon sighed.

Shippo shook his head and opened his palm to reveal a tiny shard. Kagome reached a gloved hand out to touch it but he quickly withdrew his hand.

"You'll shatter this if you touch it. It's a fake. I've figured out a way to manufacture these little buggers to partially amplify demonic powers. It gives us kitsune just enough power to hold a disguise for a full day without growing tired. Other demons can use it to mask their scent and hide demonic features. I've also managed to keep the shard from becoming corrupted by demonic blood by encasing it in this ceramic bead. A priestess is the only person who can make them."

"Why would you want to help demons?" The half-demon spoke, crossing his arms dismissively.

"Well, I don't think it's a good idea for me to tell you specifics… but, essentially the demons I make these for are the good ones. I can't tell you how I know, but these demons just want to be left alone. They don't hurt anyone and they don't want to attract the bad ones with their scents." The kitsune replied.

He looked down at his son for a few minutes, seemingly lost in thought; and then handed Shiro back his bead. Both kitsune transformed back into the forms they wore out in public.

"Shiro, apologize to the lady. We're going to have to have a little talk about your behavior after the ball." Shippo gave him a hard look before turning back to his old companions. "I'm going to talk to my daughter as well. Would you mind staying out here for ten minutes while I find her?"

They nodded and the father and son disappeared back into the ballroom. When they were gone Kagome began to rub her upper arms. The night air was a little chilly and she had only just noticed it.

"Well, I sure wasn't expecting that." She said.

Inu Yasha was still in the process of digesting all the new information he had just received and nodded absently. The miko shivered from a change in the direction of the breeze and his sharp eyes quickly picked up on it. The dog-demon had not been given the opportunity to take in her appearance until just then. She was stunning.

She wore a dark indigo gown made of shimmering silks. The strapless bodice had a silver beaded broach which sat in the center of her chest, a hair below her breasts. From each side of the broach silver pleated strips wound around her chest and tied in a complicated-looking, yet elegant bow low on her mostly bare back. He could tell the elbow-length matching blue gloves she wore would not keep out the chill breeze. With a shake of his head he quickly drew her into his arms, feeling her hands slip under his jacket around his waist.

"Don't sit me. I have to… you'll freeze." He fumbled with his own words.

He was surprised when she gave no reply. The hanyou figured she was shocked or angry, after a couple of seconds of silence he snuck a look down at her face. She was looking up at him, but it was hard to see what she was thinking with the masquerade mask on. Without thinking—he seemed to be doing that a lot lately—he raised a hand and gently pulled the mask off. He hadn't had time to put his on; it was still lying in the changing room where he had abandoned it in his rush. Her cheeks were pink and he wondered if she was catching cold.

"Are-are you getting warmer?" He asked.

She nodded. He noticed little silver pieces sparkling in her black locks. They'd been carefully placed in her hair when it had been pulled up into a matching silver comb studded with blue stones that perfectly matched her dress. Amber eyes found her stormy blues again as he got lost in them again.

In his mind he could hear himself speak. "You're so beautiful…"

The look of surprise which registered on her face and the brightening of the blush on her cheeks made him realize he had spoken his thoughts aloud. Her response made his heart beat so hard in his chest he swore she would have felt it, ignorant to the fact that her own beat just as hard.

"Inu Yasha, I-I have to tell you…" His heart sank for a moment when she hesitated, he was sure she was going to let him down. Instead, she said, "I love you."

His reply was immediate and seemed weak in comparison as it fell out of his mouth. "I love you, too."

This time he would not ask, he was too afraid he might he might lose his chance. Inu Yasha was almost certain the night had been a dream anyway. He took a chance, his hand found its way under her chin, gently turning it up to his. His head tilted down and their lips met in a small kiss. As soon as he had done it he drew his head back a little and locked eyes with her. He had to make sure she had wanted it.

For a moment he feared she might have meant a different kind of love, like the platonic kind she had obviously shown towards Shippo in the future. His fears quickly vanished as she threw her arms around his neck and pulled herself up into a second kiss. This time she wouldn't let him end it so quickly. They held the kiss for several seconds, even though it felt like barely a heartbeat's worth of time.

When they finally parted for air Kagome was flushed and breathless. The music from the ballroom thumped in the background. He gave her waist a small, gentle squeeze. The air had grown chillier and he feared his thin jacket could not keep out the cold forever. He bent his head down and murmured into her ear.

"Let's go back in. It's too cold out here for you."

Kagome concurred and the dog-demon escorted her back into the building.

-

Hours later Kagome and Inu Yasha returned to their room. Shippo had dropped them off at their hotel room. He could not resist dropping his disguise for a moment to give Kagome a bear hug, saying that because of his business he did not get to see her often and had missed her terribly. He bid her goodnight and waved at Inu Yasha. When the miko turned her back away from Shippo to unlock the door the kitsune gave him a knowing wink which made him blush more than he cared to admit it. Sure, they had finally admitted their feelings for one another and kissed… but he wasn't about to go _that_ _far_ yet! The dog-demon had little time to think about it, as his companion let them inside.

The first thing Kagome did when she entered was to remove her high heels with a pained groan. She had nearly forgotten what it felt like to dance for several hours in heels. It took even longer for the miko to coerce the half-demon into being her dancing partner. He was far more interested in observing her movements, which had the westernized style of dancing, and was happy to enjoy the show from a distance. He was also a little concerned he might have other issues that tight clothing would not hide.

Inu Yasha discovered he had little to worry about. There was so much moving involved with dancing that he had little time to worry about any physiological problems he might have. The miko had vanished into the bathroom as he fumbled with his shoes and removed his jacket; then gently undid his tie.

By the time his tie had come off (he was proud of himself for not having clawed it off) Kagome had returned to the living area. She had taken out her hair save for a few silver beads she had missed but seemed to be having trouble with her dress.

"Uhm… you'll have to help me with this."

She said shyly, turning her back to him, revealing the bow and a zipper at her mid-back she was having trouble reaching. He recognized the obnoxious device from the ones that had come on several of his jeans and had little trouble bringing the clasp down all the way. The bow took a little longer. It had been tied tighter than he had thought and he had to fight the thing for several minutes before he finally got it loose. When it did the miko caught the dress and clasped the bodice to her chest to keep it from sliding down while she returned to the bedroom to finish dressing in pajamas.

When she came back Inu Yasha was in a pair of red, loose sport shorts and a white t-shirt. He was in the middle of adjusting his pillow on the sofa. At some point while she was dressing he had un-taped his ears and they swiveled in her direction.

"Inu Yasha, would you…" She paused for a moment, making sure he was paying attention before she continued, "…would you sit with me for a little bit?"

He sat back on the sofa, expecting her to join him until she replied, hesitantly.

"No, I mean, in there?" The miko pointed to the bedroom.

His ears became hot as a thousand probabilities popped into his mind all at once but he quickly convinced himself that it had to be to help her sleep. They had been through quite a night, after all.

"Sure." He replied and followed her into the bedroom.

Without a word Kagome climbed into bed, slithered under the covers, and watched as the dog-demon plopped down in a squat next to her. She quickly realized he would not relax unless he was requested to do so. The miko wondered if the time she was drunk she had asked him to rest beside her. She tested the theory.

"You can lie down. I know you're tired."

He seemed uncertain for a moment; then slowly lay down. The last time he had done this it had ended in intense pain, but then again, the last time she had been pretty trashed. This time she was completely lucid. Amber eyes watched as her eyes slid shut. Before she fell into a deep, exhausted sleep she managed to mumble.

"You can stay here, it's all right…"

That settled it for him. He nodded, dumbly even though she had no way of seeing it. It felt good to be close to her again. He could keep a better eye on her this way. After all, he wasn't one hundred percent sure that Shiro was entirely finished with them. Shippo had obviously grown up but it was obvious he did not have complete control over his kin. Would Shiro always be a threat to Kagome?

His eyes lingered on the miko's face. She was already asleep, her breathing slow and even. He wondered how she had kept out of trouble for so long without him. Noticing a silver bead still trapped in her raven locks, he reached a claw out and gently dislodged it from her hair. He inspected the bauble for a moment before it was tossed over his back unceremoniously. The dog-demon reached out again, running his fingers through her soft hair. Only a few days ago he wouldn't have dared to dream that he might sleep so close to his love. Yet, there he was, able to touch her, hold her, and even managing to kiss her—twice!

His hand slid from her face. It felt heavy. The hanyou realized he had been more worn out than he had guessed. He tried to stay awake in vain but gradually succumbed to the temptation of a worry-free rest.


	12. All TouchyFeely

-*-

Man, I was pretty worried people would be mad with me for not having the enemy be Naraku or Sesshoumaru. I'm glad to find out only a few were unhappy about it. Regardless, I think it's a good idea to give you guys a look into my thought process so far...

You see, after catching up on a lot of the manga I missed when I moved I noticed something interesting. Have you ever noticed there's practically no mention of any demonic activity in Kagome's time period?

Well, I decided that there's only a few ways to interpret that. Either the demons that are around are in hiding or they've all been eradicated. If they had all been eradicated then that might mean Naraku had somehow been involved with it. However, that doesn't make much sense because it would be strange (I've said this in a couple of review responses so some of my readers might be hearing this a second time, sorry!) how human-friendly Kagome's world is. If Naraku had his way then I'm pretty sure there wouldn't be a modernized Japanese society in her time. So, it follows to assume Naraku is no longer around in her time period.

From there I considered that demons wouldn't just die out in six hundred years, in fact, a Naraku-free world would have been fairly conducive to demons as it became more and more modernized and less 'wild-west.' The psychotic killer demons would have probably lived and died by the sword long ago (or gotten arrested) and the non-violent demons would have begun to take on disguises and live normal lives amongst humans.

Since kitsune are famous for their disguises I figured a kitsune would be the most successful at living out in the open. Being that they're also known for their sense of humor, I actually gave away a clue that it was Shippo in the name he had chosen for himself. Reynard is the English variation of 'renard' which is French or Polish (according to the 'behind the name' website) for the word 'fox.' Also, being that they have a flair for the dramatic, I made Shippo's occupation be that of an actor.

Well, I don't want to clutter this section up with notes but I wanted to tell you all that I really thought hard about the conflict I wanted in the story before I chose it. I have a lot more I could say about what I've researched about kitsune but it might just come out in the story. We'll see.

**I could still use some good activities or ideas about what Kagome and Inu Yasha might do now that the masquerade is over. What problems might they deal with now that they're kind of 'official'? Send your thoughts, please! **

-*-

Inu Yasha was the first to wake. Sunset-hued pools opened slowly to the light streaming through the hotel window. Even though he had only awakened in her room for the second time, the thought struck him that he ought to close the shades on the window if he wanted to keep sleeping in. Keep sleeping in? He had accepted that sleeping next to Kagome would happen so naturally it surprised him.

His ears trained on the sound of her heart beating to the steady rhythm of a resting heart rate. She looked so peaceful with one arm tucked up under her head, the other laid out away from her body, sitting in the space between them. He snuck a claw out across the covers and curled them around her fingers. She was asleep so it was not like she could get angry with him for being so bold, after all. The dog-demon studied the digits. They were small, soft, and pale compared to his sun-tanned, rough, and calloused fingers.

The hanyou wondered how such a frail hand managed to stay a bow and fight demons—even his own fully demonic form. How could he keep her safe from every danger they would inevitably face? As his mate she had no place on the front lines of battle and their search for the Shikon fragments, yet he could not find them without her. That would have to be addressed once Kagome woke up. All serious subjects would have to wait. At the moment, he was content to let his thoughts wander back to the previous night.

She had always been beautiful to him but she had been absolutely breathtaking that night on the balcony. Using the pads of his fingers, so as to keep her delicate skin away from his claws, he traced the bumps of her knuckles, then the bones in the back of her hands. He nearly jumped when the miko gave a tiny, contented sigh and wiggled her fingers. For a split second he feared being sat, pulling his hand back to guard his face.

Blue-gray eyes slowly cracked open just as he did so. A look of bleary confusion appeared on her face and she reached a hand out to grab his forearm, guiding it away from his face.

"What're you doing, Inu Yasha?"

He blinked, instinctively fighting her hand for only a second before letting her direct it down to the comforter. The hanyou sputtered.

"Oh—uh… n-nothing. Sorry." He gave her an awkward smile.

Kagome smiled back; then stretched languidly. The dog-demon couldn't help but watch her body wriggle beneath the sheets. He could enjoy the view because she had made the motions with her eyes closed. When her eyes opened again, she noticed her companion's gaze quickly darted away from her. It was pretty easy to guess what he'd been checking out. For once, she decided to ignore it.

More pressing matters called. Shifting so that she could lay on her side with her head propped up in her hand her eyes bored into his. Her speculative gaze made the half-demon a hair nervous. Then she said it.

"What are we now… exactly?"

For a moment he had no idea what the question meant. To his gratitude Kagome allowed the hanyou to consider the question carefully. Finally, it dawned on him.

"Oh! Well, you're my mate." He replied, matter-of-factly.

'Mate' sounded a little too wild to her. Her family would most certainly be upset if he called her that. The miko's gut reaction was to feel angry and embarrassed but the logical side of her quickly resolved that a demon wouldn't have any different terminology for that kind of a relationship.

"You can't call me that around my family—and before you even say it, yes, you have to ask permission from grandpa to date me—you're my boyfriend, I'm your girlfriend. Got that?"

Inu Yasha was miffed but agreed. He wasn't about to risk mucking up his brand new relationship over a stupid pet name. Anticipating more rules, he waited patiently; instead, she posed him another question.

"What…" She hesitated for a moment, thinking carefully before she continued, "What do you…expect me to do… as a…mate?"

Her cheeks burned hotly at the question. She did not want to ask it but not knowing what to expect out of a relationship with a demon she had to know if there were any boundaries. For all she knew he could be expecting her to do something—well—she refused think about perverted things like that but it did concern her. Thankfully, Inu Yasha seemed just as perplexed. Unlike Koga or even Sesshoumaru he had not lived with other demons and had not really learned their codes to any extent. The few things he did know were borderline instinct or common sense. Mate ownership was a rule he had accidentally stumbled upon while observing a fight between two other demons over a mate years ago.

"Well…" He began truthfully, "I don't know much… I never exactly paid attention to them to find that shit out. I just know that I made a claim first. You're mine for as long as you want to stay." He shrugged. "When—if—you leave; that's it."

"Well then why did Koga take me?"

The question was purely innocent, but it elicited a snarl from the hanyou.

"That dumbass wolf knows better! He _challenged_ me. Those challenges are supposed to be to the death. Winner takes all." He seemed to stew for a moment before beginning again, "Unless I die or you leave you're my woman—definitely not _his_ woman… No one else… I showed that bastard a thing or two…" He trailed off, grumbling to no one in particular, fuming.

His outburst had told her more than she had expected. It was odd being spoken about like a common object though she knew it was not his fault. At least there was no sexual expectation. Inu Yasha's voice suddenly broke through her thoughts.

"What do I have to do to earn you, here? Is it different?"

She blinked and ran her fingers through her hair; thinking back to the few dates she had been on before falling into the well. Hojo had asked her grandfather before taking her out on a date; she had already ordered Inu Yasha to do that. He had already met her friends and they approved so that was not a problem, either. That gave her an idea.

"Well, you saw how dates work, right?" She waited for him to say yes before continuing, "You need to start taking me out on dates here, once in a while. Just once a month, we'll see a movie or something. If you really want to impress my family, which you'll need to keep me," She did not like saying 'keep' but she knew he would get the message better, "Then you might want to ask grandpa if you can work for him around the Shrine a little bit. You'll need money from my time if you want to keep seeing those movies you like so much… Or is that too much for you?" She pretended to look at him as if she believed he could not handle it.

"Too much for _me_? Feh! I'm a man, of course I can! I can do all your damned chores without breaking a sweat."

He took her bait so easily. She smiled and gave him an admiring look for what she knew would be his future troubles. The miko was aware that he would be in for it when grandpa decided to lay on the heavy-duty chores. It would be good discipline for him.

Her smile made the dog-demon cocky again. All the relationship talk had made him quite uncomfortable. He was happy to commit and would be completely loyal to her forever. Seeing her look so enamored with him gave him the small boost of confidence he needed. Before she had a chance to react his free hand was in her hair. His fingers cradled the base of her skull, drawing her towards him.

When she was close he allowed himself to gaze on her face. Her cheeks were flushed and her azure-gray pools sparkled. Now that all of the boring discussions were out of the way the dog-demon figured he deserved a little reward. However, Kagome had one last thing to add.

"Oh. That reminds me. My family won't like it if you hold my hand or kiss me out in the open until you ask grandpa's permission. It would be really difficult to convince them to let me be yours if you made them mad…"

When she spoke she had pulled back her head a bit so she could keep her head clear as she said it. He had not thought about that. He would have to be careful with her family—it probably was not a good idea to call her 'woman.'

"But I can touch you now, can't I?" He blurted out.

The miko blushed and nodded. That was all he needed to pull her back in again. He was just about to kiss her when there was a knock on the door. The dog-demon growled. Maybe if he ignored it they would just go away…? Unfortunately, the knocking persisted. Kagome dislodged her head from his grasp, scooted out of bed, and shuffled to the door. Inu Yasha flopped onto his back with a grumble.

Moments later the smell of food wafted past his sensitive nose. The growl that issued from his belly confirmed his hunger. A split-second later he had vacated the bed, starving for some grub.

-

Inu Yasha had decided that room service was the best thing ever. It was like the people serving the food were telepathic. They brought food exactly when he was hungry. He wondered if he could hire one of these telepaths in the future to conjure up food whenever he wanted. When he had asked Kagome how much it cost to get one of the magic food-bringers she had killed his dreams by telling him that they cost too much. He observed that she looked amused at his question and wondered if he had said something strange again. The hanyou decided after a brief moment that it must be a girl thing. They were difficult creatures to understand, after all. At least he had finally acquired a girl—unlike a certain priest who propositioned every pretty girl in sight.

That made him grin inwardly. He had only asked one girl to be his mate and it had worked on the first try. The half-demon would be sure to rub that in Miroku's face the next time he saw him.

A few minutes before Kagome had excused herself from breakfast. At the moment was engaged in a shower. He reclined on the couch; fingers drumming on the armrest. They had a little more than a week to be openly 'official' (as Kagome had called it). After they returned home he would not be able to be openly affectionate with her until he had received her family's approval. It was strange to think that he could not simply take what he wanted, but he would abide by her rules if it meant that he could remain by her side. It was at that moment that the dog-demon decided that he would make sure he got in as much affection as he could before they got home. He had no idea how long it might be before he could be so obvious again and was not about to ruin his opportunity.

The water stopped running and Inu Yasha's ears perked up. Moments later Kagome emerged from the bathroom dressed in a white, button-down cotton shirt, left half-way open to reveal a pink tank-top underneath. The miko had paired it with a khaki skirt which stopped at her knees. He had wanted to tell her how pretty she looked but the look in her eyes told him that she was far too concerned with finding her hotel key card. She fussed with the belongings in her suitcase before finally discovering her key in the purse she had carried the night before. Quickly transferring it to her wallet, she checked to make sure the credit card was in it before handing it to the half-demon.

"You'll have to hold on to this for me, I don't have any pockets." She said hurriedly.

He snatched it from her grasp and inspected it for a few minutes. Thankfully, it was just a plain, black leather wallet with no girly flowers or anything on it. Grunting his acquiescence he stuffed the item into his back pocket (an invention he quite approved of) and followed her to the door.

-

This time Kagome had planned for them to go to an arcade and then out to dinner. He was not sure what an arcade was but she had explained that it had games which were vaguely similar to the ones played at festivals.

When they got to the location he grew slightly concerned. The arcade entrance was down a short flight of stairs, slightly below street level. When they stepped inside his fears intensified. The place was dimly lit at best and boxes of shimmering lights buzzed and sang from every nook and cranny, humans huddled around the boxes here and there, tapping and cursing at them.

"This is where I go when I'm frustrated." She indicated to a machine with a large screen with a half-wall in front of it. On the wall thing were two holsters holding blue and red L-shaped objects which appeared to the demon to be some sort of silly toy.

Before he could ask her what it was she swept up the red toy and threw in a coin. The screen waited for someone named 'player 2' until the miko plopped the blue toy into and added another coin. The screen then began counting down to the game's start. Kagome took the opportunity to show the dog-demon how to use the thing she called a 'gun.' When Inu Yasha could not grasp the concept of what a trigger was right away she sighed and grabbed his hands. Taking hold of his claws, she angled his fingers around the grip and then raised her own gun to show him how to put one of them on the trigger.

That was all the time they were given before the game began. A very life-like looking man who looked none too pleasant trained a similar-looking weapon on them. Without thinking the hanyou jumped in front of his mate to block her from the attack, bracing for the impact of what appeared to be a projectile. Instead the screen flashed red and Kagome giggled.

"No, no, that's not an enemy! That's the game. You're supposed to shoot at it—like this."

She slipped around him, pointed her weapon at the man, and pulled the trigger. The man gasped, clutched his chest, and then disappeared. In order to maintain his dignity he proclaimed that he knew that from the start and that he was only testing her to see if she knew. When she said she had been playing the game for few months back at home he felt only a little bit stupid. Before he could give a snappy comeback Kagome had been drawn back into playing the game. He mimicked her movements (though he pretended he already knew) until he got the hang of it and no longer had to sneak peeks at the miko to understand the controls.

To his surprise he found that his mate was particularly adept at playing. The first couple of rounds he had done terribly; at one point he felt like quitting—until she called him a baby. With grim determination he persevered through several coins. Eventually he was doing so well that he did not need the coins any more. In fact, it became apparent that they were both doing remarkably better as a team. The couple alternated between covering one while the other attacked and vice-versa. They were doing so well that they began to draw a crowd. No one had ever seen anyone get so far in the game without going through a ridiculous amount of coins.

Normally, the dog-demon abhorred so much attention but they had gathered so quietly that he had been able to gradually grow used to them. Some began to cheer when they passed another level. Neither one could look at the other; if they took their eyes away from the game for a second then they might make a mistake.

The crowd grew more excited as they gunned their way through the final level to the final boss; who reminded Inu Yasha a little too much of Naraku. The dog demon growled as he popped off rounds. It certainly was a satisfying experience to put a couple of holes into the bastard, of course it did not come close to doing it with the Tetsusaiga—

"Hey! Pay attention! I'm losing health here!" Kagome's voice jerked him out of his semi-bloodlust.

He realized that his self absorption was getting his partner in trouble; it would not be any fun to play the game without her if the life bar thing got too low. He muttered an apology and resumed his attack normally. In the back of his mind he wondered if that was what it was like to be near him when he was a full demon. Sure, he had more power, but it meant nothing if it might hurt someone else—especially her.

Before he knew it the final boss gurgled its' last curse at them and disappeared. The screen faded to black and was replaced with the words "You Win! New High Score!" The crowd cheered.

A man in a t-shirt with a logo on the front pressed through the line until he was at the front. He told the couple that they were the top scorers for the game. Kagome was handed a teddy bear with the logo of the business stitched onto its' belly and Inu Yasha was given a baseball cap with the same logo. Then he told them they would have to pose for a picture. Thankfully, he already knew about cameras from a recent trip with the miko so he was not anxious about it.

There were a lot of people around and the hanyou was not sure of what to do. Kagome sidled closer to him. The cameraman spoke.

"I've never seen such teamwork—a brother-sister team, no less!"

Kagome made a face. Inu Yasha was insulted. "She's not my sister. She's my m—er—girlfriend."

"Oh, well then, move closer! Let's get a cute picture." The cameraman replied.

The grumpy half-demon threw an arm around his companion. Kagome blushed. The camera flashed twice and the crowd gradually dispersed. Inu Yasha kept his arm around her when the man gave them a blank square of paper. He would not say a word until the man left and they were heading out the door.

"What the heck was that for? I thought we got one of those tiny paintings?"

Kagome rolled her eyes, smacking her palm to her forehead, "Inu Yasha, that paper _is_ the photograph. Look at it now."

She thrust the Polaroid in his face; strangely, the paper had gone from white to a pale orange. As he continued to watch the orange color began to grow darker and the colors changed in places until it had turned into a perfect image of the two next to the video game machine.

"That's the best trick I've ever seen! Hey, can we make him do it again?" He asked excitedly.

"Yeah, only if we win another high score."

His face fell. The half-demon looked at the picture again. It was an odd thing to see his face staring back, somehow it looked different. Besides his black hair color; something in his grin or his posture he could not quite put his finger on. His eyes lingered on Kagome's face she wore a funny smile; happy, yet shy, all at once.

"Hey, Kagome, can I keep this?"

He blurted out the question with such excitement that he was sure the miko would laugh at him. Instead the girl was giving him the same look she had been wearing in the photograph; her eyes bright.

"Only if you promise me you'll take another one with me so I can keep one."

His taped-down ears burned against his scalp as the blood rushed to them.

He tried to sound flippant about it, "Yeah, sure, why not?"

She smiled and gave him a hug. Now was his chance to be close to her again! His hands wrapped around her middle, holding her in place. Slowly, he raised his claws up until they were tangled in her hair, turning her head up so he could gaze into her eyes. Her cheeks were pink, lips parted slightly. When she gathered that he intended to kiss her she closed her eyes and—

"Hey! Fancy meeting you here" A familiar voice interrupted.

Kagome jumped away from the dog-demon involuntarily. Furious that he had just lost his second chance to kiss his mate he turned his golden gaze to the bearer of the voice that invited his inevitable beating. His growl ended as he grasped the voice was that of Shippo.

"What do you want, fox?" He grumbled.

Shippo had taken on a more youthful-looking appearance. He had the same red-blonde hair sporting a longer, shaggy cut preferred by some Japanese youth and bright blue eyes but looked to be in his twenties and sported not a single gray hair. No one would have guessed that the man before them was the fabled actor Reynard Baines—or a kitsune.

"Well I was hoping I might run in to you, but I wasn't trying to find you." He began, "Are you hungry? Care to have a late lunch?"

Inu Yasha's stomach gurgled in response and his ears burned from a blush. The miko was hungry as well, but she could not help but be a little concerned.

"Is this going to… mess things up at all?"

She was referring to their timeline, worried that their encounter might alter their future in some way. Shippo shook his head.

"I doubt it… fate wouldn't allow us a chance meeting twice, I don't think."

The explanation was good enough for the half demon who decided it was a good time to speak up, "Feh. I don't care. Let's go eat already, I'm starved!"

-

Both demons were so hungry that few words were exchanged until after the two men had gorged themselves. Kagome watched them in fascination, suddenly aware that Shippo's table manners appeared identical to Inu Yasha's. She wondered if she ought to try and nip a bad habit he had obviously picked up from her companion, wait, check that, _boyfriend_. She smiled at the thought; apparently their crazy little group must have turned into a family at some point. The fox-demon and the dog-demon were engaged in a drinking contest; they were attempting to chug down the contents of their beverages before the other did. Halfway through his glass Shippo choked and the miko ran over to beat on his back until he coughed. She shot an angry glare at the hanyou. His triumphant look at having won wilted away.

Shippo laughed, "You always did lose, even when you won."

For the comment he was bopped on the head none too gently. The only reason he was not immediately sat was because they were out in public. He was very excited about the new opportunity to abuse Shippo—until Kagome tersely warned him that he might get arrested for battery. The fox-demon overheard the remark and began laughing hysterically. Inu Yasha growled impotently.

Still laughing, the kitsune stood from his seat, set some bills on the table, and bowed to the miko.

"I'm sorry I have to eat and run but I have a meeting in about an hour."

The two nodded and Shippo gave Kagome a hug before heading off. The fox demon disappeared out the door. Finally, Inu Yasha had his woman all for himself! He thought about all the secluded areas he could take her to so they could get some peace… unfortunately, the miko had other plans.

"Oh! That reminds me. Come on, let's go." She grabbed his hand and led him off.

-

The shopping district was definitely _not_ secluded. They had hopped a train to an area choked with people. With a growing sense of dread the dog-demon realized that they would have to stay there for a long, long time.

Kagome's first stop was a store filled with small bangles on metal hoops which she said were accessories for keys or something called a 'cell phone.' She figured the little trinkets were travel-friendly and could hook on to—well, something—easily. The demon thought they were frivolous but was unwilling to risk her wrath. Eventually, she picked out one for each member of their group. When the miko finished with the cashier and had received a small bag containing her gifts Inu Yasha grew hopeful that they were finished. He was wrong.

As soon as she left the store she dragged him to several outdoor shops. At first he had been extremely irritable, but gradually it dawned on him that she was quite happy. He hand often found its' way into his and he found that he was quite content to allow the hustle and bustle. At least it was peaceful.

By the time the sun was beginning to set Kagome finally completed her shopping. They grabbed a quick dinner from an outdoor snack vendor and headed for the train station. The hanyou had watched her struggle with several bags for ten minutes before he begrudgingly took over. He gave an internal sigh, wondering if he would get a chance to hold her close tonight. It certainly would not happen if his arms were laden down with bags all the way back to their room.

They made their way to the train station and got on board with little trouble. Most of the commuters had long since gone home and there were only a few people per car. Kagome chose a train car towards the back with a few young men sitting in a far corner, apparently snoozing and in the midst of a long trip. They took a seat next to each other and the dog-demon dropped the bags unceremoniously next to him in an empty seat.

As the train rolled off Kagome collapsed against him and leaned her head on his shoulder. Finally! He had a chance to get close! Inu Yasha threw an arm around her, resting his head against the top of hers. Just as he was beginning to relax a foot kicked his shin roughly. Initially, he ignored it, assuming it was just Kagome shifting to get more comfortable…until he realized the scent of the young men had grown stronger. It could only mean that they were much closer. He slowly opened an eye to see what the trouble was.

"Aw, look at the love birds, how cute."

Kagome sat up with a start, blinking rapidly. "What?"

"Just hand over your bags and we'll let you get back to makin' out." A man wearing some sort of bandana covering most of a bad bleach job that had turned his black hair orange responded.

"Like hell I will" Inu Yasha stood up, gently releasing his hold on her.

The three boys laughed. Without the fire rat robe his wiry frame did not sport the appearance of a dangerous half demon. They had no clue what they were up against. One of them used the toe of his boot to lift up the edge of the miko's skirt. The hanyou growled and his woman smacked away the shoe, her cheeks stained with a humiliated blush. She heard the demon's knuckles pop, a dangerous fanged smile on his lips. All three of them continued to laugh as they pulled out switchblades.

The leader sealed his fate when he opened his mouth again, "Okay, fellas, when we're done with this dumbass we'll show the little lady a good time."

"Humph, I'd like to see you try."

Normally, Kagome would not have condoned any violence in her time period but one quick look up and down the car told her that there were no other witnesses. Inu Yasha was only mildly concerned that he might get into trouble for killing the three morons. He awaited her orders.

"Can I trust you to not kill them?" Her voice sounded oddly cold.

The demon's smile widened, his canines revealed, "Yes, ma'am."

The first man, the leader with the bandana, struck first. He had made a move that Inu Yasha had thought would hit Kagome so he thrust an arm out, catching the blade in his hand. He did not even wince when it drew blood, and he wouldn't allow him to withdraw it. His fingers clutched the sharp thing as if it was made of rubber, not steel. The punk was in such shock that he let go of the handle, he was in even more surprised when the same hand punched him in the face, knocking him out cold—but not before breaking his nose with a sickening crack.

"Whoops. Better punch softer next time." The half-demon smirked, swinging around with the same bloody hand to punch the second thug in the gut, letting up just enough so that he would be conscious.

Inu Yasha wound up to hit the third guy but was surprised when he crumpled to the floor of his own will, curled up in a humiliating bow of apology.

"P-please! We didn't mean it! J-just, let us go!" He stuttered.

"Why should I?" The hanyou snarled. "You dared touch my woman? I ought to kill you and your idiot friends' right here!"

Kagome spoke up, giving the man an icy stare, "Promise us you will not say a word about this…mistake…and we won't press charges."

The man kept bowing and nodding as he spoke, "Y-yes ma'am. I promise. Kei, grab the chief. We're gettin' outta here!"

The man who had been punched was still coughing for air but the two managed to drag their unconscious companion out into the next car. Deprived of a decent fight the dog-demon resumed his seat next to his companion with a grunt.

"Inu Yasha," Her angry voice exploded next to him, "What is this?"

She grabbed his hand and yanked it towards her with one hand, the other dug through her purse until she found her tissues. He winced when she pulled the switch blade out of his palm, stuffing it in a wad of tissues before setting it down on the empty seat on her side.

"I swear; you're so careless" She grumbled as she dabbed at the wound.

He sucked in a breath when she did so. The wound was healing slowly as she spoke but he had dripped blood all over. She cleaned off his hand, then the blood on the seat. When she had finished doing that the miko dropped another couple of tissues to the floor and wiped up the last few drops there by pushing them around with her foot. Finally, she picked everything back up again and shoved them all with the switchblade back into her purse.

He pulled her back down to sit with his good hand and was about to throw an arm around her when the train pulled to a stop at their station. As they got off at their stop the hanyou cast a suspicious eye about to make sure the thugs had not got off at the same place. They hadn't, but he kept a wary eye out all the way back to the hotel, just in case.

At the hotel they were lucky enough to bump into Shippo again at the lobby. His own acute sense of smell had picked up the dog-demon's blood and he hurried over to them, still in his youthful form. He spoke quietly to them.

"Obviously something went down, I've rented a room under a false name, I'll take you there so we can talk."

The two nodded and the kitsune led them to the elevator and up a couple of floors to a smaller, less glamorous hotel room. As soon as they were inside Shippo dropped his human disguise entirely. He did not look much different from is human form except that he was now closer to Kagome's height and sported a tail and ears.

"So what happened?" He asked.

They related the whole story to him while the kitsune shook his head, finally commenting when they had reached the end of their tale.

"Kids these days have no manners. Feh."

He blushed a little when Kagome raised an eyebrow to the distinctively Inu Yasha-like response. Shippo certainly had picked up a lot of the dog-demon's traits.

"Well, I'll call some of my people and make sure no one causes you any trouble. I doubt those kids will press charges, regardless." Shippo ended.

The miko thanked him, she did not want to try and figure out how he was going to 'take care of things' but she doubted it would be anything bad. Apparently, though the fox-demon had read her mind and added,

"Don't worry, ma, it's just a clean-up crew to make sure there's no evidence for the police to use if the idiots really do try to press charges."

She nodded, and then remembered the switch blade and the bloody tissues.

"Oh, here, I cleaned up a little already… can you get rid of these for us?" She handed the objects over to the kitsune.

Shippo took them and shoved the items into a pocket on the inside of his jacket before responding, "I'll take care of these, I promise. You two go and take it easy, now."

He ushered them out the door and then waved them off as he pulled out a cell phone from his pants pocket and began making calls to various people. The two companions returned to their room, far more relieved.

When they got back to their room Kagome re-checked Inu Yasha's wound. In the short span of time the cut had already healed to the point where it appeared to be little more than a long paper cut. He muttered something about it being nothing and then moved away to put her bags down.

Exhausted the miko went straight to her suitcase, grabbed up some pajamas and went into the bathroom to shower and dress for bed. It took him only a few minutes to get changed; Kagome was still in the process of showering by the time he slid under the covers on his side.

Inu Yasha thought about their terrible date. What a mess it had been! He felt like an ass for only being able to hold her hand a few times and put his arm around her shoulders. It seemed that fate had conspired against him that day. He took a small bit of comfort that he might regain some of his lost opportunity when Kagome came to bed. The hanyou laid his head down on the pillow and closed his eyes. The night was not over yet…that was…for sure…

When Kagome emerged from her shower dressed and ready for bed she found the dog-demon sound asleep in bed. She smiled and climbed in next to him, gently brushing his bangs away from his face. The miko leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on his lips, then settled down and closed her eyes.

She murmured quietly, "Good night, Inu Yasha."


	13. Kitsune Mischief

-*-

First of all, a huge thank you goes out to little white fox (I put spaces in the name so Microsoft Word won't freak out) who gave me some very helpful input when I desperately needed it most. Thank you!

This note is also fair warning that I may travel into the lime end of the pool in this or the next few chapters. It shouldn't be anything that would slide my rating past T. If this causes problems for anyone just send me a message and I'll see what I can do.

Also, from my limited researching into the feudal era of Japan it appears that sex was not a huge taboo among the upper class of that time period. In fact, men and women were sort of allowed, even encouraged, to fool around—as long as they did not get caught. I'm borrowing a little from that for my interpretation of how Inu Yasha might react to certain situations. I'm considering what little he knows about sex probably comes from his mom (a noblewoman) and what he might have observed from other demons. So I doubt he's nearly as prudish as Kagome.

-*-

Dawn found the couple resting peacefully. Kagome had the common sense the night before to close the drapes. Consequently, Inu Yasha slept in. The miko was the first to stir. Slowly cracking her eyes open to find the dog-demon sleeping peacefully beside her. She could count on one hand the number of times she had watched him sleep but she always remembered them fondly. This time was no exception.

He slept on a tiny corner of his pillow while his dark hair billowed out behind him. His right hand lay out at his side, always instinctively at the ready to reach for the hilt of the Tetsusaiga. The pointed ear that he did not happen to be laying on twitched at the tiniest noise. As her eyes made their way down to his face she found that his brows were furrowed in a look of concern.

Kagome had to assume his dreams were not peaceful this morning. Instinctively, she reached out to touch the side of his face. The shift in movement caused his hand to reach up and catch her wrist. He gripped her arm tightly for a moment.

"Inu Yasha, it's just me, relax." She whispered gently.

Instantly his hand loosened and he murmured her name. His face relaxed and his hand slid down to her elbow as the miko drew her hand forward to brush his cheek. With a contented purr he turned his face towards her cool touch. When he did not react negatively to her touch she slowly drew the edges of his hair away from his cheek and then stroked the side of his face with the backs of her fingertips.

Suddenly the claw at her elbow snaked around her waist and yanked her close. Her face pressed into his chest and her hands were pinned cross-armed across her chest. She was so surprised by the abrupt motion that she lay still for several minutes, her heart thumping in her chest.

Minutes later her heart slowed and she was able to turn her head up towards his neck for some fresher air. As she did so the hanyou turned his face down towards hers as he tried to get closer to the sweet scent of her hair. Kagome's heart began to beat swiftly again as she stared up at his slightly parted lips. Unable to resist the temptation the miko wormed her way further up in his bear hug until she could press a hesitant kiss to his mouth.

At that very moment the dog-demon's dreams told him that the fight he had just been in (a replay of last night's events) was over and that Kagome had been enthralled by his victory. Being the manly guy that he was, he swept her up into his arms to which the dream miko swooned. When she did he tried to press his face into her hair to catch her engaging aroma but found instead that she had locked lips with him. He was surprised for a moment at her forwardness but quickly got over it and returned her kiss.

In the real world Kagome was shocked to find her kiss returned with gusto. The hand that had rested underneath him had wriggled around her until it encircled her shoulders and cupped the back of her head to make the moment last. Entranced, the miko began to shift in his grip, trying to un-pin her arms from her chest so she might put them around his back.

Inu Yasha began to grow confused, the way she moved next to him made him think that they were not standing in the train station (where his dream had placed them) but were, in fact, laying down. This caused the half-demon to rouse from his slumber.

Amber orbs opened slowly to locate the source of the movement that had interrupted his dreams. They grew huge as they locked on the closed eyes of Kagome, engaged with him in a passionate kiss. Now more confused than ever he broke off the kiss and loosened his grip on her to try and ascertain what had been real and what had been his dream. Kagome opened her own eyes to look up at him quizzically.

"Did we—Did I—what'd I just do?" He blinked, perplexed.

The miko looked just as stunned. She knew he had been asleep instinctively, yet she could barely help herself. She gave a sheepish smile and spoke, finally.

She blushed and began awkwardly, "Good—uh—morning?"

At that moment room service knocked at the door. Breakfast was ready for them. Before she needed to explain her actions the miko scrambled out of bed to answer the door. The dog-demon flopped onto his back to stare at the ceiling. Well _that_ had certainly been a good morning.

-

The conclusion of breakfast was a relief for the two companions. Kagome had wolfed down her food quickly, blushing hotly the whole time, wondering what had gotten into her. The hanyou, in turn, was afraid to ask what had happened and kept to himself. The second she was finished she hurried off to get dressed and showered while the bewildered demon followed suit.

By her frantic actions he was certain he had done something inappropriate in his sleep and mentally kicked himself for it. He could not imagine what he could have possibly done and continued to wrestle with his own questions while the miko showered.

In the shower Kagome turned the knob to full blast and collapsed against the cool tile wall. She had no idea what had come over her. It certainly felt right to be in his arms and caught up in that kiss… She shook her head and slapped her cheeks to remove the thought.

"It's a little too soon for that, now." She muttered to no one and then finished up her shower.

As soon as Kagome emerged from the bathroom Inu Yasha was upon her, concern evident on his normally hard features.

"Kagome, I don't know what I did but…I'm sorry."

The miko shook her head and smiled, "No, no, you didn't do anything. It was my fault I…um… I was the one who did it—I saw you, and well, I kissed you…"

She trailed off, blushing furiously while the dog-demon stared at her, flabbergasted. He had not expected her to say that. He opened and shut his mouth a couple of times, but no words came out.

"Wait, wait, wait-a-minute… You… made a move… on _me_?" He asked incredulously.

"What's that supposed to mean? What, did you think I wouldn't?" Kagome's ire began to rise. It wasn't like she couldn't show affection. Did he think she was the only one who could do something like that?

"I don't buy it. I must have started it…You don't need to protect me, if I did something wrong you can tell me." He continued, rubbing his eyes as he worried about what he could have done in his sleep again.

That comment made her furious. She placed her hands on her hips; 'sit' began to form on her lips until she realized that might make him believe even more that she was not telling the truth.

"Oh yeah? You think I can't kiss you on my own?" She growled.

"Yes, that's exactly what I—unf!"

He had no time to get another word out. The miko had reacted so suddenly he was caught off guard in a crushing kiss. At first he kept his hands at his sides, shocked into stillness. The embrace seemed far too familiar and the kiss was exactly the same. Finally finding his mind his arms moved around her shoulders and pulled her in close to return it. They held their tight hug for what seemed an eternity before finally parting.

Kagome's cheeks were beet red as she pulled away. Deciding that things were getting a little too hot under the collar the miko excused herself by making a fuss of cleaning up the car in order to push it outside.

The hanyou was relieved at the chance to settle down. He was starting to have different issues that the modernized, tight-fitting pants did not exactly accommodate. He closed his eyes and turned towards the window, taking a few slow, deep breaths until he began to relax. He had heard enough from Miroku to guess what was happening to him but he was not at all certain either was ready for it.

Since the lecherous priest was not available to give him much information on the subject then that meant that the next logical person who might know more would be—oh gods—Shippo. He clearly had a mate and children so he would likely know what to do but the thought of going to someone he only knew as a child in his time seemed somehow wrong. He also could not help but picture the kitsune laughing his ass off at him.

The half-demon gave a frustrated grumble, running his fingers through his hair. The hell if he would ask a damn fox for that kind of advice. No, he would be much happier (and more comfortable) to simply feel things out on his own.

What he did not know was at the moment Kagome had pushed the cart out into the hallway a tell-tale, tiny dancing mushroom was crying 'waah!' Shippo's signature magical mushroom with goggle eyes bounced around for a few seconds before turning into a small envelope. She grabbed it up and ripped it open. Inside was a small note and small square metallic package. She ignored the package and read the envelope.

_Kagome, you know the stupid mutt won't come to me for advice so I'm sending this message to you. Have fun you two but don't give Naraku any other reasons to kill you. Get my drift? Love, Shippo. _

Puzzled, she picked up the small square packet and turned it over in her hands, then nearly dropped it again when she realized what it was: a condom. At the same time Inu Yasha came out into the hallway to check on what was taking her so long. With a gasp the miko shoved the condom into the pocket of her jeans.

"What's taking so long?" He inquired.

"Oh, uh, nothing…" She replied.

She checked to see if the kitsune mushroom was still there. It wasn't. Both it and even the note had vanished. The dog-demon eyed her quizzically for a few tense seconds but seemed too caught up in his thoughts and let it slide. Moving past him and back into the room she grabbed up her purse and threw the strap over her shoulder.

Her composure regained, she asked, "So, Inu Yasha, where would you like to go today?"

He was caught off guard by the question. Most of the time Kagome had made the plans but now the miko figured that he had been to enough places to have an idea of what he wanted to do. The hanyou thought hard for a while. The places he enjoyed the most were the ones where he could be near her, but he knew she meant specific areas.

"Well… the park was nice…and the movies." Her smile encouraged him.

"Okay," she said, "Lets go to the park and then we'll hit up a movie later."

The miko was relieved. Now she had something to help her forget about the embarrassing situation Shippo had made for them.

-

The park was just as he remembered it. It was quiet, with only a few people shuffling about. He liked the tranquility of the setting. When there were fewer humans about he could feel a lot more comfortable. The busy places like the shopping districts were exciting, but the noises and all the foreign scents tended to overwhelm his senses rather quickly and he could not relax as he could at the park.

Kagome had seemed rather distracted and he was concerned she was angry at him for some reason…except that when she would chance a look at him she would blush and look away. It wasn't an angry sort of thing; just embarrassed.

They took a seat beneath a weeping willow tree; the reedy branches hung so low in nearly encapsulated the area in its own shell the trunk. He chose the spot because it was a particularly bright, cloudless day and the dog-demon did not want to roast in the sun. Inu Yasha plopped down against the trunk and leaned his head back while Kagome settled down beside him.

Breaking the silence Inu Yasha began, "It's been quiet without Shiro and Ikume. Do you think they'll bother us again?"

Relieved to turn her mind away from uncomfortable thoughts she eagerly replied, "I'm not sure. Shippo did say he was going to straighten them out…"

The half-demon nodded and the two lapsed into silence. He decided then that it would be a good opportunity to throw an arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer to his side. Yesterday had been a bust when it came to getting close so today he would make sure to enjoy his time.

Kagome blushed furiously as her mind flashed back to Shippo's little note. It was stupid to keep thinking that Shippo had any clue what might happen between them. Did he know something or was he just in a kitsune sense of humor? Golden eyes narrowed in her direction.

"…Hey I was talking to you!" He growled.

Instinctively she jumped. Apparently he had been talking to her for quite some time and she hadn't paid a bit of attention. He turned her to look up at him.

"What's got you so distracted today?"

Her hand moved over her pocket, as if covering up the offending object would keep her from thinking about it. Inu Yasha's keen eyes picked up the movement and he reached out to take her hand.

"What? Are you hiding something?"

"N-no… I'm not hiding anything!" She stuttered.

The dog-demon seriously doubted that. As the miko squirmed he grappled with her. The fighting caused her to slip her fingers into her pocket and grab the tiny package, squeezing it in her palm so that he might not see it. Out of frustration he pushed her over onto her back and straddled her waist. In a lightning-quick move the hanyou grabbed her wrist in one hand and clamped his other hand over her mouth so that she could not utter the dreaded phrase which would send him crashing into the ground.

Kagome's free hand balled into a fist and pounded his shoulder. She would have been screaming something to the effect of 'let me go you stupid lump' had she been able to speak. The girl impotently wriggled while his claw crawled up her wrist, gently working his fingers into her palm until he encountered the plastic wrapper. Kagome's face turned crimson as he snatched the object out of her grip.

"What the… the hell is this thing?"

He released his hold on her mouth to allow her to talk. She huffed and puffed for a few minutes until she regained a small bit of her composure.

"It's a… It's uh… candy?" She answered his question with a question. His wilting look made her realize that was not going to convince him. With a sigh she gave up and haltingly answered.

"It's a… condom." His non-plussed look at the foreign word forced her to further explain, "It's for… s-sex."

The two stared at each other with tomato red faces. He still did not understand and now that he was dumb-struck she had to continue.

"It… you… a man… w-wears it to stop the girl from... getting pregnant."

His eyes widened as some realization dawned on him. His mouth formed a soundless 'oh' and he could tell she was telling the truth. His next reaction was something totally unexpected.

"That's incredible! They make something like that in your time? Is it permanent? Can you… you know… do it and then have children later?"

She was shocked that he was not floored by the awkward answer. Almost incredulously she answered his questions.

"No, it's not permanent. You use it once each…uh… time."

"Interesting…" The dog-demon had no intention of bringing any kin into a world which did not appreciate half-breeds. Sex was certainly not taboo in the feudal era so the device held many opportunities for their relationship… if she approved, of course. He gazed down at her pretty flushed face, still astonished by his apparent lack embarrassment.

"Wait… you aren't embarrassed?"

"Why should I?" He looked down at her quizzically.

"Well…" Kagome blinked "I don't know."

The half-demon shook his head and leaned down, his lips near her ear as he spoke soothingly; more gently than the miko had ever thought he was capable, "I won't do anything you do not want."

Her head wobbled 'yes,' struck speechless by his bold move. Her cheeks could not get any more pink and his soft breath made her shiver. Before she knew it Inu Yasha had kissed her cheek then jumped off of her.

"Well, isn't it about time to head for that movie?"

-

By the time Kagome and Inu Yasha left the theater they were both in far better spirits. The dog-demon spoke excitedly about the action movie they had just left; prattling on about the intense fights and how fun it was to watch. After that they went out to dinner at a small café, and then headed back to the hotel.

-

The two collapsed back onto the couch in the living area with a united groan. Kagome closed her sea blue eyes with a sigh. The crinkling of paper caused her to open them again. Inu Yasha's curiosity had gotten the better of him about the condom and now he attempted to get it open.

"Hey! What are you doing? Give me that!" She snatched the item away from him with a huff.

"I want to see what it looks like!" He pounced on her, grappling for the package.

"Like hell I'll let you do that!"

Kagome knew his reach would be longer than hers so she decided to wrap her legs around his middle to force him lower, and then used her free hand to push him down and away. She knew it wouldn't hold him for long but it did buy her enough space to keep his claws a mere six inches away from her hand with her arm extended all the way out above her head, holding the square package like some sort of trophy.

With a growl he crawled forward, forcing her legs to let him loose as he employed his demonic strength to push his way past her meager defenses. With a triumphant 'aha' he snatched away the package. She grumbled and wriggled a bit, wrinkling her nose at him.

"Not fair. You cheated."

"How'd I cheat?" He looked down at her quizzically his face now directly above hers. Their close proximity made her blush and forget what she was so frustrated about.

"I… I don't know. You just did. So there." The miko huffed petulantly.

A wide smirk spread across his features revealing one sharp canine at the corner of his lips, "Oh, nice comeback, mighty one."

She gave a derisive snort and turned her head away from him, mostly to avoid thinking about the close proximity of his face to hers. They had kissed twice now and she still found that she acted like a little school girl when they were close.

"Heh, by your silence I take it I have won."

Stormy blue pools snapped open and her face turned back to him, "Won what? Did you think this was some sort of keep-away contest?"

Her aggravated expression always had a way of bringing out the beast in him. He liked it more than the dog-demon ever admitted. She had so much life to her and it exploded forth from her when she was angry. On more than a few occasions he had dealt with a sit or two just to piss her off a little. It was too much fun not to.

"What're you staring at?" She mumbled, still pouting a little. Her lower lip stuck out in a way that was too tempting to resist and before he could stop it Inu Yasha found that he had bent down and taken a kiss.

Kagome gave a tiny squeak of surprise, then slowly her eyes slid shut and she found herself returning it. The hand above her head laid still and the other one that had been shoving down his shoulders initially instead crept across his back to tangle in his hair.

His free hand settled on one side of her, then slid behind her back, pulling her in for a more passionate embrace. The other hand, still holding his little prize found itself curling around her extended arm, holding her down almost possessively. When the plastic packaging touched her skin Kagome's embarrassment rushed back to her again and without thinking she uttered the worst word possible…

"Sit!"

Blam! Inu Yasha's head came down on hers with a loud smack. With a muffled and surprised yelp he was slammed into her. He tried to free his body, at first out of anger but then out of concern when she did not get angry at his string of curses. Finally, the spell wore off and he was able to raise himself.

Her forehead sported a tiny trickle of blood from where his hard skull had connected with hers. Kagome had been knocked out cold. Frustrated for a second day in a row, but more concerned about her well being, Inu Yasha gently clambered off her and the couch. The hanyou went through her things nearby until he discovered her handy little first aid kit she so obsessively carried around. He brought it back and set it on the coffee table then trundled off to the bathroom to wet a hand towel and dab her bloody forehead.

Inu Yasha was relieved to find that the wound, once cleaned, was only a tiny scratch. He had seen Kagome use band aids on skinned knees and the other humans to know how to operate the tricky things. It still took him several minutes and a couple of band aids to get one to stick across the wound without getting it stuck in his hair or on his claws. That accomplished he gently gathered the girl up into his arms and carried her to the bedroom.

Fearful of the beating he might receive from the night where she had gotten drunk the dog-demon tucked her in fully clothed before getting ready himself and turning in for the night beside her.


	14. Kampo

Hey, guys, sorry about the delay in posting a new chapter but I had thoughts for my "Cats and Dogs" story itching to get written. The only way for me to get out of my writer's block for this chapter was to get that one hashed out. Regardless, I apologize for the delay. Enjoy!

Note: Before anyone asks there are 7-11's in Asia. I remember frequenting one when I lived in Taiwan over the summer a few years back and I vaguely recall there being 7-11's when we stayed in Japan for a couple of weeks, too. As a side note KFC's are all over the place in Kaohsiung. I thought that was pretty funny. Kentucky fried Chinese food, anyone?

Note: Kampo is a tradition of using combinations of herbs to cure various maladies. It's a practice that originated in China and supposedly moved to Japan in the fourth or fifth centuries so I'm assuming that Kampo might have been in practice during the warring states period. Hence, why I'm guessing Inu Yasha might be knowledgeable of it.

Last Note: I know this chapter is short but they'll have a very good morning in the next chapter; I promise. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge; say no more.

-*-

Kagome had regained consciousness with a brutal headache. She sported an ugly lump on her forehead from the previous night where she had smashed heads with the hard-headed hanyou. Unfortunately, the miko had also run out of Tylenol for her headache.

The half-demon insisted that he go out and retrieve the substance on her behalf. Initially, Kagome refused. However, her tune changed when she tried to don a baseball cap to cover the welt and found that her bruised skin would not tolerate such pressure. She knew she could not step out in public with a big bruise on her head because people would ask questions and the gods only knew how troublesome those could be for a half-demon and his girlfriend.

In quick succession she imagined the police assuming she was a battered woman, then arresting Inu Yasha, then finding his dog-demon signature ears—oh gods—that would be awful! With that terrifying thought she finally allowed him to brave the modern world alone. What trouble could he possibly get into anyway?

Thankful that he was able to convince her to rest, the dog-demon quickly made his way down to the lobby and then out into the street. Kagome had given him instructions to purchase the medication at a near by 7-11. The two had gone there several times before for various snacks and beverages when they did not feel like dining out so he had no trouble locating the shop again. Locating the medication turned out to be a more difficult problem.

The miko had made two mistakes when describing the Tylenol container. First she had told him to look for a bottle with a red label but failed to specify what the label might look like. In the medicine aisle (which he had to be directed to with help from the kindly clerk) there were dozens of bottles with red labels. Her second mistake was assuming the stubborn half-demon would ask for help twice. He would not. Feeling that he had already used up more of the clerk's time than necessary for such a stupid assignment, Inu Yasha decided to give up looking when he could not decide which bottle meant what.

That still left him with a problem. Where would he get headache medicine for Kagome? He stroked his chin for a moment in contemplation; then snapped his fingers. A Kampo herbal tea would do the trick and he knew exactly where to get the ingredients. On their way back from shopping district a few days ago Inu Yasha had noticed an outdoor herb vendor. He thanked the gods for his excellent memory and quickly made his way there.

The vendor carried plenty of Kampo ingredients and had even recommended a special herbal tea for headaches. He was an elderly gentleman who was impressed with Inu Yasha's knowledge of Kampo. The old man went on to complain that most youngsters in his days had no knowledge of natural remedies and then prattled on about how the world just wasn't the same anymore, et cetera, et cetera… The demon was in no mood for long-winded stories but still managed to thank and pay the man with the cash originally intended for the Tylenol.

As he walked away several men brushed past him. They wore ridiculously colored suits and had dyed their hair strange colors. The dog-demon found it odd but kept walking until his sensitive ears picked up the sounds of the men, young by the pitch of their voices, harassing the old vendor.

"Come on, buddy. We're only askin' for some change for a ride back home."

"You are not. I saw what you did with my money last time, you young hooligans!" The old codger shouted.

"I said 'a ride' I didn't say what it meant."

"You meant 'riding high' I'm not giving you a red cent, you got that?"

"Fine then, we'll just take it by force."

That was enough for the hanyou. Using his demonic strength he jumped clear over the young punks to land neatly between them and the old man.

"Your voices give me a damn headache, so shut the hell up."

The men laughed. Five against one seemed too easy a fight, especially against a man who, while sporting some nasty-looking fingernails, seemed otherwise weak. Two of the men revealed switchblades, to which the dog-demon rolled his eyes. The other three pulled out strange, stumpy oblong objects painted black. They were not sharp at all and he had to wonder what kind of moron brought some tiny clubs and a couple of dinner knives to a fight against a demon.

The old man had taken to hiding behind his cart while the two knife fighters closed in. They were quickly laid out with some swift swats to the head—he had been 'gentle' so that the injuries would not be fatal—since he knew Kagome would sit him forever if he killed anyone in her world.

The half-demon had not even broken a sweat when a loud popping sound issued. Three more pops followed in quick succession as projectiles tore through his torso. They burned like liquid fire on the way in and he cursed loudly from the searing pain. Two more shots issued from the gang bangers until, to their horror, Inu Yasha reacted in a way they had never anticipated. The hanyou was hurt, to be sure, he was bleeding all over the place—yet he still stood! As they looked on dumbstruck he cursed again while looking down at his clothes.

"Damn it! My woman is going to KILL me for ruining these clothes! Look what you did! Do you know how many sits I'm going to get for this, do you?"

Fury boiled in his golden eyes as he staggered towards them, cracking his knuckles. He was certain all the blood wouldn't wash out of a white shirt; not to mention it would be hell to try and sew up all the holes from the projectile weapon. The entire time he agonized over his clothing the punks were slowly backing away.

"H-Hey man… you're uh… you shouldn't be talking man. What the hell are you?" One of the punks stuttered.

"Your worst nightmare, that's what damn it!" He shouted back.

That was enough to send them running. To them Inu Yasha must have looked like some sort of terrifyingly bloody monster. Anything that could stand with so many bullet holes inside them had to be either crazy or inhuman. Sputtering apologies as they scrambled away the men vanished from the scene. In the distance Inu Yasha could hear sirens. Kagome had told him that those meant that the authorities that she did not want involved would be coming to investigate the noises; someone near by must have reported it, too. Without a sound the dog-demon took off. He had to get out of there before those other men arrived. Bleeding badly and knowing it would scare other humans; the hanyou took to the rooftops of buildings and hid among the trees, slowly and painfully making his way back to the hotel.

At the entrance to the hotel he faced another dilemma. He sat in a tree across the street from the building and watched it while he tried to get his mind, dizzy from blood loss, to keep thinking. If he went in through the lobby in his current condition he would certainly freak out everyone else. That would be bad. Instead Inu Yasha decided that he ought to just stay in his perch and heal up. It irritated him that Kagome would not get her tea but scaring the public was a larger threat to them than a mild headache. With a grunt he leaned back against the tree where the branch he was perched on met the main split.

He had not been sitting there long when he saw Shiro emerge with two young girls on each arm, fawning over him. He stopped in mid-stride and turned his head this way and that. The half-demon had caught the scent of Inu Yasha's blood. He gave the girls some money and quickly made up an excuse about business to excuse his departure. As soon as they had boarded the limo intended for the three of them Shiro stalked across the street to the tree and leaned nonchalantly against it. He whispered softly, knowing that the demon's sensitive ears would easily pick up their discussion.

"It seems like you've been in a little fight. I know you don't trust me but dad never allowed us to turn down a demon in distress."

Inu Yasha made no reply so Shiro continued, "I'm going to throw my jacket up to you. Take it and put it over yourself. That way you'll be covered so you can walk in through the lobby. Can you make it that far?"

There was a quite grunt of affirmation from the hanyou and the Baines boy threw his jacket up into the tree. As quietly as he could the half demon painfully shrugged on the coat and zipped it up to his throat, temporarily covering up all the blood. It would only be a matter of time before it seeped right through. Still, he couldn't ignore a chance to get inside. Besides, it was not in Shiro's best interest to out a demon in the middle of his father's hotel—especially with his father actually there.

Without a moment's hesitation he slipped down out of the tree and onto the ground. Immediately the kitsune hanyou placed a leaf on top of his head and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again the man threw his arm around the dog-demon and murmured to him.

"Lean on me. To everyone else you and I will just look very drunk. No one can see the blood with my magic working, got it?"

He nodded, barely conscious. Shiro Baines found that he was mostly carrying Inu Yasha most of the way across the street and through the lobby, singing raucous Irish drinking songs to keep up the idea that they were drunk and he had merely passed out.

"C'mon… you got 'ta hold 'yer beer better!" He hollered while the staff purposely ignored them. The hotel workers knew better than to bother any Baines relative who was having a good time. When he got into the elevator he indicated to the attendant that the two should be taken up to his apartment and Kagome should be summoned, along with his father, there as well.

By the time Shiro was safely inside his apartment Inu Yasha was completely unconscious. Ikume was already there, holding a silver briefcase, and she informed him that Shippo was on his way to get Kagome. Her brother set the demon down on one of his couches. The pretty blonde descended on the hanyou, several metallic instruments in hand. Shippo had tried to teach both of his children how to treat injuries but only Ikume had taken a strong enough interest to continue learning more than basic medicine. Shippo had wanted his children to learn these things specifically to treat demons. He had lived through several demonic witch hunts and the injured demons left in its' wake had taught him that demons had to know how to treat their own, kill or be killed was no longer an option.

Ikume quickly went to work on the demon. Her pointed fox ears appeared as she allowed her claws to form on her fingers, using them to cut through Inu Yasha's shirt. She then turned him from side to side, checking to see which bullets had gone completely through and which ones had not. Ikume ignored the through-and-through wounds; those would heal on their own. However, demonic healing did not do so well with foreign bodies. The tiny metal fragments would be slowly pushed out as the wounds around it closed up, forcing old wounds to re-open and bleed fresh. As the bullet was slowly pushed out it caused fresh internal bleeding which often led to a demon's demise from blood loss.

Ikume had extracted one of the three lodged bullets from the hanyou when Shippo and Kagome burst in. Upon seeing the female kitsune with a holding a bullet with one of her tools the miko decided that she was about to do something terrible to him and attempted to launch herself at the woman. Shippo grabbed her around the waist before she could get that far.

"No, Kagome, she's saving him." He murmured soothingly, his grip was firm, yet gentle.

"Please, let me go!" She cried.

The desperation in her voice caused Shippo to immediately release her. She stumbled over to him where Shiro motioned her to kneel by his head; out of Ikume's way. She fell to her knees and placed her shaking hands on his forehead. His skin felt strangely cool and clammy. With her gentle contact Inu Yasha's golden pools slowly opened, grimacing immediately as Ikume pulled out a second bullet which had lodged against one of his ribs. He opened his mouth to speak but was silenced with a finger to his lips from the miko.

"Shh… I don't want you talking right now, okay? Just let Ikume do her thing."

He nodded and closed his eyes again, seeing Kagome's face had greatly relieved the dog demon. Meanwhile Ikume grunted with exertion as she struggled with the last bullet which had gone in through one of his sides and then had become lodged when it tried to exit near where the second bullet had become stuck in his ribs. After some finagling the kitsune hanyou was able to yank it free. After a few minutes of carefully monitoring the wounds Ikume announced that Inu Yasha would be fine. Shippo then stepped in to bandage his wounds. The wounds were already beginning to heal as he worked but he wanted to stop any more blood from flowing while he carried the demon back down to their room. Shiro dismissed all the staff from the halls and had them blocked off beforehand so that their journey to their room was uneventful.

Once Inu Yasha was deposited safely on their bed in their room Shippo sat down next to her on the couch in the living area. He ran his fingers through his hair for a moment, and then rubbed his chin thoughtfully before he began.

"I want you to keep an eye on him tonight. I'll talk to Shiro tonight and find out what happened. Ikume said Shiro thinks he got mugged and I think he's right—but obviously, we won't know for sure until otou—er…Inu Yasha—wakes up."

He paused until Kagome nodded mutely, and then continued, "My people will be keeping an eye on you guys tonight. You won't see anyone, but they'll be there. Get some rest tonight. Call me when he wakes up, okay?"

She nodded again. The miko had been quiet ever since Inu Yasha had spoken to her. Shippo could only guess that she was still numb from the shock over the whole ordeal. Suddenly, Kagome reached out and pulled the kitsune in for a tight hug.

"Thank you, Shippo."

He gave her a squeeze back. "There's nothing you need to thank me for. I wouldn't have survived without you two."

With that he pulled away, as he did so he gave her a pat on her shoulder. "Go on and keep an eye on Inu Yasha. Good night, Kagome."

As soon as Shippo had left she returned to the bedroom. Inu Yasha's brow was furrowed as he slept until he picked up Kagome's scent. Immediately, his face softened. He was naked from the waist up except for the bandages and his khaki pants were a bloody mess. The blood had dried so it would not mess up the sheets but she knew he should not be sleeping with them on. For a few minutes she argued with herself internally but finally made up her mind to change his clothes. She tried to remove his pants without getting too close to him, fearful he might awaken. The belt was easy enough to get off and she was slightly amused to find that he had been running about with his fly undone all day long. Getting the pants down turned out to be a far more difficult task. She tried to pull them down by tugging on the cuffs at his ankles; however, they seemed to be snagged on something. The miko tugged and tugged until she heard a small ripping sound and gasped, looking up to find the source of the noise. What she found was a pair of claws dug into the belt of his pants and golden eyes staring down at her.

"What the hell are you doing, woman?" He mumbled.

The tearing sound she had heard had issued from his claws as he had tried in his sleep to keep his pants up. At the time he had been dreaming that Shippo was trying to pants him for some reason. Kagome's struggling and grumbling had finally shaken him from his sleep enough to realize Shippo's prank had been just a dream. However, he wasn't sure Kagome disrobing him was not entirely a dream as well. It seemed far too good to be true.

"I… uh… er… well…" She stumbled over her words, completely surprised and utterly flabbergasted. "You were hurt."

"Yeah, so?"

That made her angry. "Well you were out cold and I couldn't have you getting the bed all bloody, you big idiot!"

"It's dried already and you know that! I'll be fine, woman, leave me alone and let me sleep!" He retorted; the fog of sleep banished from his mind.

Kagome yanked on his pants again. "I'm not letting you sleep in those bloody things! You can't sleep like that!"

The dog-demon sat up suddenly then grimaced, though it did not stop him from arguing anyway, "I'll sleep however I damn well please!"

"Yeah and run off to gods know where, and get into fights and get hurt and I didn't even know…" She shook slightly as she said it, hot tears slid down her cheeks unchecked. Her crying floored him. The miko had obviously been worried about him.

"Shit. S-stop that. I didn't mean to. I was trying to—damn it!" With that he crawled over the bed to the foot where she stood and reached out and wrapped her up in his arms.

"What were you thinking? I was so scared!" She sniffled but remained in his grasp.

He sighed and related the whole series of unfortunate events to her. By the time the story was said and done they sat in the living area, still holding one another. Inu Yasha finally concluded his story.

"…So that was how I ended up in the tree. I hate to say it but if it wasn't for that punk Shiro I might still be stuck in that tree."

As he finished speaking he fumbled around in his pants pocket until he produced the small package of tea leaves. It had somehow managed to stay completely blood-free.

"Now I think _I've_ got a headache." He grumbled, holding the bridge of his nose. The miko patted his knee, stood up, and took the package from his hand.

"I'll tell you what. You go get changed, get washed, and while you're doing that I'll brew this tea. I think we both deserve a little relief."

The dog-demon was not about to argue with her logic and thus grabbed up a t-shirt and the shorts he wore to bed; then disappeared into the bathroom. There was a small half-kitchen within their room, complete with a sink and tea kettle. While Inu Yasha showered away all the blood the miko set about boiling the water. By the time he emerged from the bathroom Kagome had just begun to set two cups of hot tea down on the coffee table. They sat down next to each other and sipped appreciatively at their tea.

Finally, exhausted from the long and hard day; the two retired to bed.


	15. The Love Bite

-*-

Hello everyone! I wanted to let you all know that I can't guarantee how quickly I'll turn out chapters in the next couple of weeks. You see, I'm a senior in college right now and as part of my graduation requirements for my art major I have to make an art exhibition (like in a gallery and everything) and I only have a few months to work in. Additionally, my teachers put a kink in my plans for making my exhibition because half of the faculty were offended that I referenced video games and anime as aspects of my artistic inspirations. I literally had one teacher say to me, "Well I tuned you out the minute you said 'video games'." Ugh! Can you believe that? Each member of the art faculty has a say in my grades so right now I'm getting screwed out of good grades because half of them think anime and video games are 'low art' forms. Because of this I've had to come up with a new exhibition in one month to appease the less open-minded people on staff. So, because I'm a little bit of a smart ass, I decided to make an exhibition which focuses on cultural paranoia to technological innovation. All of my sculptures will subtly reference some anime or video game but I'm not going to tell the staff that until my exhibition speech. I think the art styles I'm using have universal meaning without any contextual referencing. We shall see, in time. So yeah, it makes me a pretty busy gal, to say the least.

Story note: Okay, I can't help it; I love the 'marking' idea that has been used in Inu Yasha fictions before. It's not very original, but I think it makes sense. I love paige morgan's version of marking in her story "The Sickness," I definitely recommend reading it! What do you guys think about marking? Send me a review response or e-mail me! I'm really interested in learning what you all think. This is also fair warning that there may be a little lime in this chapter, too.

Oh, hey, new thought, here. What is your favorite IY fan fiction story? There's so many on this website that it's really hard for me to root through to the good ones. I'd love you forever if you sent me some reading recommendations! It inspires me to write.

-*-

The morning had Inu Yasha thanking his lucky stars for his demonic ability to heal. The bullet holes from the evening before were little more than dime-sized marks on his chest which itched like sunburn, yet otherwise felt normal. The dog demon felt refreshed, yet confined in his bandages, so he set to work slicing them off. Kagome slept peacefully. By the time he was finished the miko had stirred.

"Mm… Inu Yasha?" She mumbled. "How're you feeling?"

He nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard her voice; he hadn't expected her to wake up so soon, "Oh! I feel better, everything's healed."

She gave him a look of mild disbelief. She did not think he was lying but he did have a way of ignoring the severity of his injuries. Kagome climbed out of bed and stood to face him, slightly blushing when she realized he was shirtless. The hanyou crossed his arms defensively. He knew she wouldn't believe him until she saw them.

"You got shot by a weapon called a 'gun' okay? We don't know how bullets might affect you. Please, let me see them."

With a grunt he let his arms drop. She could see the small, round red marks on his chest and another on his side, it was obvious they itched, too; there was evidence that he had been scratching at them like they were mosquito bites. It reminded her of how her little brother always absently picked at his skinned knees and bug bites. Something else made her a little more concerned. Inu Yasha was still very pale and his cheeks were flushed. It was time to call Shippo.

"Okay, well they look a lot better…"

That was all that the dog demon needed to hear to head out to the living room for breakfast. Moving made his chest ache a little. Some bones must have been broken when he was attacked with the gun-thing. Eating would help encourage the healing process. At that point a feral demon would have sought out a human to eat for their blood nourishment. He would never touch a human like that.

While he was eating Kagome emerged from their room with the strange 'cell phone' contraption that allowed her to talk to anyone in the world. It was a device that fascinated him. He had asked her if they could use one in their time period. It would have been a huge help if Kagome ever got kidnapped again. He could have talked to her immediately and have her guide him to her. However, she said that in his time the devices needed a special tower built near it or else the cell phone could not call another one. It was quite a let-down. Still, the hanyou could not help but be interested as he watched her talk. His sensitive ears recognized the sound of Shippo's matured voice on the line; he couldn't make out what he was saying until the end when he said that he would be arriving shortly. Finally, Kagome closed up the clam-shell phone and headed back to the living area.

"Are you finished eating?" She asked.

He nodded.

"Good, because Shippo says you have got to get back in bed."

"What? Why?"

"Because I said so, that's why!"

"I feel fine!"

"Fine is a relative word for you. I don't buy it. You're too pale and Shippo's coming over here to give you a transfusion."

"Confusion?"

"Ugh! TRANS-FUSION! You'll see what I'm talking about when Shippo gets here but until then GO LAY DOWN!"

With a long string of curses he stomped off to bed and threw himself in it. His thoughts ranged somewhere between anger that modern women did not seem to show any respect any more and resentment that he had gotten shot just to get his woman some damned tea…

About a half hour later two voices joined with Kagome's grumbling voice as Shippo and Ikume appeared at their door. The dog demon could hear some sort of argument erupt between the three of them. The miko was particularly upset about something but she would not raise her voice enough for him to know what. His curiosity was undone the moment Ikume burst through the bedroom door.

The blonde kitsune wore a uniform he had never seen before. It was a white dress with buttons down the front; though he could barely call it a dress as it was far too short. If she were to cough too hard he was certain he would be viewing more than just her white nylon-clad legs. The buttons had been undone to the point that her cleavage peeked out of the upper half of the uniform. On top of her head was a tiny white hat with a red shape that Kagome had once identified in her homework as a plus sign. He had to wonder if that was how math teachers dressed in her world. Ikume carried a strange translucent bag filled with something that looked like blood, yet he couldn't scent it. He had no clue the bag was air-tight.

The air seemed to chill considerably and he realized that Kagome was watching him stare at Ikume. Her face was a mask of barely-contained fury. His death was definitely eminent. Shippo stood slightly behind the miko with a half-amused, half-embarrassed grin on his lips.

"Nurse Ikume is in!" She chirped cheerily.

"Wh-what? No thanks." He replied, scooting backwards on the bed until his head knocked against the backboard.

Kagome cleared her throat, "Ahem, all things aside, Ikume's the only one who knows how to give a transfusion… much as I hate to admit it. You'll have to listen to her…for now."

The glare she gave the girl could have chilled the fires of hell however, the kitsune hanyou seemed unfazed. Inu Yasha could have sworn he smelled ozone in the air. With a nervous grunt he crossed his arms and relaxed only slightly. Ikume trounced over to him and grabbed one of his arms. The half demon shot his girlfriend a look to make sure that her handling was okay.

"Hold you arm out, underside up." She instructed and he complied.

Ikume bent over a little more than she needed to tie a rubbery wrap a little too tightly around his bicep. She then told him to make a fist, to which he did and she made a comment about how sexy he was. A second, fearful look was sent Kagome's way but she was too busy blushing furiously. For a few minutes his fear changed to elation. Apparently, she agreed with Ikume's assessment. At that moment a sharp jab of pain emanated from his forearm. He tried to jerk his arm away but found it held by Shippo; his grip had become a lot stronger over the years.

"I thought you might do that."

"What the hell is she doing?" The half demon argued.

"My daughter is giving you blood. The humans use a method now where they donate and store blood. They give it without dying; willingly. Regardless, you lost a lot of blood last night and you need this."

Inu Yasha replied with a disgruntled "Feh" but allowed Ikume to continue. Minutes later the IV was in and Shippo somehow ended up holding the blood bag over his head. Ikume skipped off to wash her hands in their bathroom. While she was gone the hanyou eyed Shippo.

"You let your daughter dress like that?"

"No, I had no clue she was going to come here like that." The kitsune bristled.

"I sure as hell wouldn't let any of my kin dress like that… too many heads to beat in."

Shippo could not contain the sly grin which played upon his lips, "Oh? Are you considering kin? Have you discussed this with Kagome?"

He got the desired result. Inu Yasha blushed brightly and burbled something incomprehensible while Kagome turned red and fiddled with her fingers; she inspected them intently, as if some speck of invisible dirt marred her skin. He could not resist making them feel even more awkward.

"Wow, it sounds like you really want to settle down, now. Are you giving up on the fully demonic dream?"

"W-well… It's not like…" The dog demon faltered, "I've been fully demonic enough times to know that I'm no use to anybody half-crazed…"

"…And it might be possible for you to have a family after you've completed the jewel?" Shippo finished.

Inu Yasha's face darkened slightly, "Family? Feh. Spreading my half blood around would make for some pretty messed up kin…what they might have to endure."

"Messed up?" Kagome interrupted. "You turned out fine." She ended quietly.

The kitsune could barely contain his mirth. The level of energy from the strong feelings of awkwardness in the room had practically doubled which the demon inadvertently absorbed into his aura. The increase in power made him feel almost giddy.

"I did?" His golden eyes were wide and inquiring, apparently surprised by the revelation that everybody but him was aware of.

"Obviously you turned out fine." Shippo inserted, pointing a thumb at himself, "Look how I turned out."

"You might be wealthy but you spoiled your kids." Kagome wagged a finger at him, internally surprised by how mothering she sounded just them.

The kitsune frowned, "That's the fifth time I've heard you say that, mama…well, not you… the other you." He scratched his head, confused by his own words.

"So, she's safe?" The dog demon interrupted.

"Of course… wait… should I be telling you guys this?"

The couple shrugged, how could they possibly know? Shippo decided it best not to leak any more information to them; however, he could tell that his father-figure was much relieved. The kitsune quickly added,

"But be careful, I don't know if you can change our future by getting sloppy in the past."

Kagome could tell Inu Yasha was beginning to look a lot better. As the conversation progressed the bag of blood had gradually decreased and the color had steadily returned to his face. At some point Shippo had called out Ikume, who had been listening in on their conversation from the bathroom. He knew all along that she was doing it but hoped that by letting her eavesdrop that she would come to terms with the fact that Inu Yasha was a taken man. The defeated look on her face and the way she had buttoned up her dress higher told him that Ikume had silently bowed out of a competition she could have never won.

"Well, I think it's about time we left you lovebirds alone. Call me if the idiot gets shot again. Try to stay out of trouble." Shippo practically pleaded the last part.

"I'm not an idiot." The hanyou pouted.

The two kitsune rolled their eyes. Ikume removed the IV; she did not bother with a band aid. By the time she had removed the needle the puncture wound had almost completely closed. Finally, they bid the couple farewell. Shippo sidled over to Inu Yasha and whispered something into his ear (which made it twitch) that the miko could not make out. Whatever he had said caused the dog demon to blush and he quickly socked the sly trickster in the shoulder. He laughed and rubbed his sore arm, it had been a while since he had been on the receiving end of one of Inu Yasha's punches. Shippo marveled at how much the half-demon of his time (not the one sitting before him) had matured in six hundred years.

"We'll see you two later tonight for dinner." He waved and led Ikume off.

Kagome waited for them to leave.

Once, they were gone the miko clambered onto the edge of the bed, staring inquisitively at her cohort, "So, what did Shippo say to you?"

He crossed his arms, the blush that normally remained in his ears had grown so much that it had spread to his cheeks. It was the first time she realized his blush was most prominent in the insides of his pointed ears. She found it to be quite cute. He continued to spout garbled nonsense.

"Sh-Shippo? Oh, I-I don't know what he said. I couldn't hear him. Yeah, that's it." As if saying the lie somehow made him believe it he repeated, "I couldn't hear him."

Stormy blue pools narrowed as she gave him a withering look. "You must think I'm an idiot if you think I would believe that. You have far too good of hearing for that. If Shippo had whispered across the room you would have known exactly what he was saying."

He couldn't argue with that. Inu Yasha became incomprehensible again and fidgeted. One of his ears twitched in a rhythmic pattern that she had recognized long ago as an indication of his internal discomfort. It meant that he couldn't decide if he ought to go on the attack and snap at her, or spill his guts. He decided to go on the offensive.

"Oi, woman, it's none of your business! It's something between us men."

His anger only fueled her curiosity. Kagome placed her palms in front of her and then proceeded to slowly crawl closer. Her blue eyes sparkled in the light.

"It so is my business! If you're being evasive then I have to know!"

Her pose made him stare. The fight left him as he watched her every move. Her curves were hard for a man to ignore, especially in tight-fitting blue jeans. Her shape and looks stupefied him. The miko took his silence as a sign of stubbornness and she crawled closer still.

"Answer me, Inu Yasha! What did Shippo say?"

"Shippo? What? Is he back?" He murmured, enchanted by the alluring picture of beauty before him. The hanyou had completely forgotten the subject of their argument. Somewhere during the time she was closing the distance between them his brain had become too busy making sure his eyes took in every detail of her body. According to his mind, conversation had taken secondary priority.

"Back?" She hesitated and looked behind her at the open bedroom door, "What, can you hear him or smell him or something?"

"N-no…He's not here. Did I say he was? I can't remember."

Kagome gave him a concerned look. Shippo had mentioned that he might suffer from memory loss if he was still bleeding internally from somewhere. He said the best way to check was to press her hand to his cheek. If it was flushed then he was okay. With that in mind she scuttled forward and pressed her cool hand to his cheek. Much as Shippo had predicted he was blushing furiously, his mouth hung partially open.

Golden eyes locked on hers for a few seconds before moving down to observe her soft pink lips. He had kissed her before, but something else told him he should do so again…something primal. The dog-demon's uncomfortable silence had made her a little nervous and his sensitive nose picked up on the change in her scent. He did not smell fear at all; he still marveled at that. Kagome took everything in stride. She accepted everyone, regardless of their demonic state and she even had the courage to give someone as powerful as him attitude. He knew she would have been a great leader of demons, had she been one. Somehow, she had fallen in love with a scruffy whelp like him.

His claws came up to hold her upper arms, the hanyou was careful not to prick her delicate skin with his razor-sharp nails. Her cheeks turned pink as realization set in at their intimate arrangement. Shippo had set her up to cause this little scene; she was certain of that now. Inu Yasha had never been in any real danger… the clever bugger.

Kagome's thoughts were interrupted as the dog-demon leaned in. He could hear her heartbeat accelerate and her scent was so alluring. Her hand had never left his cheek. It had warmed against his burning skin, the hanyou wanted to know if hers felt just the same. One hand moved up from her arm to her shoulder, then up into her hair instead. They sat there in that frozen position for several minutes. Then slowly, Inu Yasha cupped the back of her head and pulled her in for a kiss.

Her hand slipped from his face to better hold her body up as she was pulled in. Eventually her other hand settled down on the opposite side of his body, holding herself up half-over him as they continued their kiss. Finally, the dog demon broke their embrace. He gently eased her away just enough to lock eyes with her, holding her face in both of his hands. His words came low and husky as he spoke.

"Are you sure… are you sure you want me?"

Kagome gave him an are-you-kidding-me look before answering by pressing her lips firmly onto his again. He was still asking her that after all this time. Would he ever trust that her feelings for him were true? In fact, Inu Yasha was asking permission for a different reason. He pressed more insistent kisses on her lips and she happily responded as his breathing shortened and occasionally a soft growl emanated from his throat. Her scent was intoxicating him, calling him to break away from her lips to her chin and along her jaw. Near her ear he somehow managed to speak again.

"You wanted to know what Shippo told me. He said I should mark you before we went back. The mark would make you safer."

Kagome turned her head to train her eyes on him obviously confused, "Mark?"

"Shit. He said you wouldn't know." He sighed and closed his eyes, thinking took far too long while her body hovered above him and her scent overwhelmed his senses. "It's kind of like a ritual… it says you're mine."

"How does that make me safe?"

She could have sworn Shippo was giggling hysterically from somewhere. Sure, it was all in her mind, but Inu Yasha's awkwardness was always far too entertaining for the kitsune. Of course he would let the dog demon blunder his way through what was apparently a sensitive subject. The hanyou kept his eyes closed while he thought.

"Safe…" Again, his feral side insisted that he should just shut the hell up and do it already before she said no but his humanity pushed for him to explain further. "…It keeps you safe because other demons can scent it. It scares them off."

"Well, why didn't you mark me sooner?" She sounded slightly annoyed.

Inu Yasha raised an eyebrow at that and opened his eyes to give her a glare, "Because, woman, it's a mating practice. It says, 'Oi, you bastards, this one's mated and the demon's powerful. Don't touch her.' Any demons close enough to scent you would know."

Kagome gaped at him for a few awkward seconds before she had the ability for formulate a response, "I thought I already was your mate-er-girlfriend."

He growled in frustration, "I forgot when we talked about it before…Shippo reminded me." He was growing tired of the conversation and wanted to get the marking over with.

"So do it." Her reply was so matter-of-fact that it stunned him.

"F-fine," He stumbled over his words while his mind tried to collect itself, having been certain there would have been more of a fuss. Then again, perhaps she did not know what the mark entailed? He had to tell her.

"I'll have to…" He hesitated for a moment before he found the courage to finish saying it, "I'll have to bite you…"

"Ah, so THAT'S why you're being evasive. Well, it's a love-bite, right? Those aren't exactly killer."

He was surprised she knew about that, but then again he forgot she had a cat and had witnessed a love-bite on more than one occasion. She was right. It would be a single bite and it would heal quickly from his saliva. Still, the thought of hurting her in any sense pained him. Before he knew it his face was in her hands and she was smiling.

"It's okay. It will make me safer, right?"

He nodded, relief washing over him, "Yes."

He pulled her in close in one of his signature bear hugs. She fell against his chest as she was jerked forward so suddenly. Her nose hurt a little where it had bumped his sternum but she ignored it. They stayed that way for countless minutes before Inu Yasha finally worked up the courage to tilt her head up gently. He could see the muscles beneath her skin in her neck and shoulders tense as she prepared for the bite like one might receive a vaccine. It would not do to have her tensed up; it would leave a nasty bruise.

Fighting his instincts, he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. For a moment, her mouth was slack; apparently surprised that he did not mark her right away. Good. He wanted her to relax. If he could get her to forget for just a second then he would make his move. Gradually, Kagome began to return his kiss. As she did she leaned into his chest and he couldn't resist an excited growl. His lips followed the same trail they had taken before while his palms moved up and down her back. At her ear he murmured her name and reminded her that he loved her, nuzzling her head further to the side.

A claw moved up from her back to brush back her hair away from one shoulder. At first he was worried that she might realize what he was about to do but the young girl was too focused on his kisses to notice. As his lips dragged down to her neck he scooted backwards into the bed rest, forcing him into a more upright sitting position. Her pulse thrummed near her collar bone and he gave it a quick kiss before moving past it. He nosed back the collar of her shirt and angled his head forward and behind her head to her deltoid muscle. No demon would dare risk causing an unstoppable bleed by biting her neck anywhere near the jugular vein.

Inu Yasha paused for only a second before wrapping his arms around her tightly and sinking his fangs behind her neck. Kagome gave a short, surprised gasp as two sharp pin-pricks of pain took her breath away. Her hands instinctively tried to push away from his chest but the hanyou held her fast in an iron grip, growling his displeasure that his mate would struggle. She was his now.

The scent and taste of her blood was all around him and the last vestiges of his control vanished. He squeezed her tightly, though not too tight, no demon would ever be blinded by bloodlust so much that they might endanger their mate's lives or their ability to provide kin. After his possessive hug he pulled his fangs out in a quick motion, slashed his lower lip open with one of his sharp canines, and then kissed and licked the wound. His blood intermixed with hers would last for years because it did not break down as easily as a human's would. What he did not know was that it would also prolong her life and speed the healing time of any injuries.

The dog-demon pulled his head away, his eyes shielded by his long bangs. His hair did not hide the light purple stripes that crawled across his cheeks. Kagome quickly realized that he looked different than the other times he had gone fully demonic. The stripes on his face were too light and his exposed canines looked only half as long. He also held her tightly, but gently.

"Inu Yasha?" She questioned, wriggling a hand out from between their chests to brush away some of the hair from his face.

His eyes were open beneath the bangs, the normally sunset-hued orbs were a bright purple encircled by a small band of red. Except for the ring of red around his iris the whites of his eyes were completely free of his tell-tale demonic coloring. Kagome's blood within his system had halted the hanyou's transition to a full demon. Apparently, it gave him the ability to worry.

"Did… I hurt you too much? I'm sorry."

Her one free hand reached up to check the bite mark and one of the claws that had been resting on her back moved on top of it. She noted that even his claws were half as long. The two concave wounds the miko found were dry, having already stopped bleeding almost as soon as the half demon had released her skin from his mouth.

"I'm okay," she finally replied, "It doesn't even hurt anymore." Her other hand wriggled out from between them and touched his lower lip, "You're bleeding…"

At that moment some base instinct within the half-breed encouraged him to kiss her suddenly, transferring his blood to her a second time, sealing their bond. The miko's nose wrinkled as she tasted copper. Her initial revulsion from the flavor was quickly blocked out as his lip rapidly healed and he continued to insistently press on her mouth. A small voice in her mind whispered to her to end their embrace before it got out of hand but a larger part of her had longed for such an intimate moment.

Just as his claws dug into the back of her shirt to tear it off her cell phone buzzed from her pants pocket. Initially the miko ignored it until she opened her eyes to see that the dog-demon's ears had flattened against his skull in irritation. Additionally, the marks on his cheeks were beginning to fade and his eyes had returned to their normal golden hue. She gave him a sheepish smile.

"That's the alarm to get ready for dinner… sorry."

Inu Yasha groaned and released her. He desperately needed a cold shower to calm down. However, before he had the chance to get into the bathroom the miko had beat him to the punch.

As soon as the bathroom door had closed he muttered to himself, "Will we ever have any peace?"

In the bathroom Kagome turned this way and that and fussed with her hair to examine the two red holes. She marveled at how much the puncture wounds had healed in the brief time she had received them. Her fingers played over the marks, which had swelled slightly her reward was a tiny jolt of pain. Her face scrunched up in a wince.

"So this makes me yours now, huh?" She murmured to herself, watching a slow blush tinge her cheeks.

With a shake of her head to clear her thoughts the miko turned around to the tub and began to fill it with water. A long soak was just what she needed to go over their most recent turn of events.

In the living area Inu Yasha was too fixated on replaying the memories of the marking and the taste of her lips to remember how to properly dress for a formal dinner. Every time he picked up a shirt and inspected it his thoughts would be invariably drawn back to picturing Kagome. While he enjoyed the memory it was frustrating his efforts to pick out the appropriate outfit to no end. Finally, he gave up and stomped over to the bathroom door, calling out to the miko.

"Oi, woman, what the hell do I wear to this dinner?"

There was no response. He could not hear the water running so it was not like his voice had been drowned out by anything. He waited a moment and then banged his fist on the door; perhaps she was being stubborn for some reason?

"Kagome, you have to tell me what you stupid humans wear to these damned events!"

The silence continued. The hanyou grew slightly nervous. Was she mad at him?

"Stupid woman, answer me!"

Still no sound; in his over-protective mind he conjured up images of the miko slipping in the tub and hitting her head. She might have been drowning while he stood around stupidly!

"I-I'm coming in there!" He barked warningly before throwing the bathroom door open.

In the bathroom he found the miko lying at the bottom of the tub, eyes closed. With a welling sense of dread he scrambled to kneel at the edge of the tub and yank her out of the water. Immediately Kagome's eyes shot open and she sputtered at him.

"What the… Inu Yasha! What the hell are you doing in here? Eek! Don't look!"

He was so surprised by her reaction that he immediately released her and she splashed back into the water with a gasp. His eyes nearly bugged out of his head as he tried unsuccessfully to stop staring at her nude form. Words burbled from his lips with little coherence as he tried to explain why he had come in there.

"I… but… you…. I thought you… I was…"

"Get out!" She shrieked.

He tried to scuttle backwards away from her crab-like until one of his palms slipped in a patch of water which had spilled out of the tub when he had dropped her. With a surprised yelp he crashed into the floor.

While he was stunned Kagome jumped out of the tub and grabbed a nearby towel, throwing it around her body. She stood over him with fire in her eyes as she shook her finger at him.

"J-just because you marked me doesn't mean you can just barge in on me like that!"

The dog-demon had only barely recovered from his collision with the floor and coughed before responding, pushing himself up onto one elbow. He figured that he might as well stay on the floor; the likelihood that he would be sat was very high. If he was already close to the ground then the inevitable crash would not hurt quite so bad.

"Stupid wench, I thought you were drowning! I called and called out to you and you never responded."

"I was underwater! I couldn't hear you!" she shouted back.

"Well I didn't know that! I was trying to ask you something!" He snarled.

His last point threw cold water onto the flames of her anger. She realized quickly that he had been trying to look out for her. Still, the stubborn miko would not give him the satisfaction of vindication and stomped past him into the bedroom where she sat behind the bed on the opposite side of where the bathroom lay and began to pull on her clothes. He waited until her grumbling had come to an end before slowly rising to his feet again.

"So what did you want, Inu Yasha?"

His reply was chock full of irritation, "I was trying to ask you what I needed to wear for that damned dinner!"

Without a reply, the miko headed into the living area and rooted through his shopping bags until she found a pair of black slacks, a blue button down shirt, and a black dinner jacket. Kagome tossed each piece of clothing to him one at a time. He pulled on the shirt first, having been bare-chested all day anyway. Without a second thought he dropped his shorts and yanked on his pants, to which the miko blushed and turned away, muttering something about men having no common decency. Moments later the hanyou was dressed and ready to go.

She had to admit he looked dashing as usual. No one would have suspected that the handsome young man was an ill-tempered, foul-mouthed half demon. For some reason the thought brought a smile to her lips. Her smile confused the dog-demon, who was still convinced she was ready and willing to sit him for having stared at her naked…again. Oh gods, he was a dead man. She was still smiling absently to herself as she pulled the strap of her purse over her shoulder and strode to the door. Kagome glanced back at him.

"Are you coming?"

"Feh."

"I'll take that as a yes."


	16. Serendipity

-*-

Thanks are in order to all my wonderful reviewers! Again, I'm going to put spaces in people's names so that Microsoft Word doesn't have a stroke. Is it a little Monkish of me to hate an overabundance of red squiggly lines under words?

Sailor Jupiter Rox, thank you so much for sharing your perspective with me. It really helps me keep focused and your encouraging words are far too kind on me. Nekomata Hanyou has been wonderfully supportive to me as well so a big thanks to you, too! You're always giving me just the little pick-me-up I need to keep pushing on. I've been so bummed out about these silly art teachers that I really needed to hear someone besides my fiancé (who obviously has a vested interest in keeping me happy XD) say that my ideas were sound. Missy, thank you for all the reading material! It is so very helpful for me to have people like you around to stay inspired. I will definitely check out the fictions that you mentioned might have good ideas for me first. As for the readers on Media Miner, big thanks abound for Little White Kitsune and Elven Mistress for kind thoughts and more great recommendations.

B.T.W. – The "Pink Puppy" story was HILARIOUS. I loved it.

Author's Note: Okay, this is fair warning to readers who have not read the end of the manga. There is a mild and indistinct spoiler (though it should not come as a terrible surprise) which references the epilogue of the Inu Yasha manga. You have been duly warned.

**It's time for a new question for my readers! I wanted to write a sequel to the end of the Inu Yasha manga because I wasn't very happy with the epilogue Rumiko Takahashi left us since it was very vague. My question is this: If I write the sequel, should I wrap this story up as an 'extended episode' of Inu Yasha and leave it like that or should I continue on from this story and jump to the end of the manga and continue to write as if this episode is included? I'm asking this because I've done the time line math in my head and their three week vacation should be ending in a few 'days' so to speak. So what do you guys think? Keep going or make this a stand alone story?**

-*-

Kagome and Inu Yasha had just stepped out of the elevator onto the floor where the banquet halls were located when they spotted a young Japanese man alone in the long hallway. The dog-demon sniffed the air and growled, already in a foul mood from having their potential tryst interrupted, at the man in the hall. Before Kagome had a chance to think the hanyou stormed over to the man, cracked his knuckles, and brought his fist down onto the top of his head.

"Inu Yasha, sit!" she shouted, belatedly.

A leaf fluttered to the ground at the same time the miko yelled. The half demon ate carpet. With an almost cartoonish poof and a burst of pink smoke the Japanese youth disappeared. The smoke quickly cleared and out stepped a grinning Shippo. He rubbed the rising lump on his head and looked to the seething demon. A few seconds later the effect of the subjugation beads wore off and the hanyou immediately jumped up and yanked the kitsune by the collar so that he was inches from his bared fangs.

"I know your altered scent now, fox; did you think I would forget it?"

Shippo put on the sweetest of innocent expressions as he replied, "What did I do?"

"You put that fucking noise machine in her pocket! You ruined our—"Inu Yasha coughed and cut himself off as he realized what he had almost let slip.

Kagome caught up to them then, flustered.

"What is going on here? Let him go!"

The kitsune twitched his nose as she got close and grinned, "My, my, you finally got the balls to mark her. I thought you'd puss out."

The hanyou growled and shook him a little, "Oi! I'm not a coward! Of course I did!"

"Sit!"

The two rocketed into the floor simultaneously. Inu Yasha had made sure to take Shippo with him; he knew full well that it was coming. For once, he welcomed it.

The miko stood above them, furious, tapping her foot impatiently. Her face was burning up from the heat of her blush. She crossed her arms over her chest while Inu Yasha eyeballed her ankles for several moments until the subjugation effect wore off. Shippo groaned beneath him as the hanyou struggled to his feet. He offered the kitsune a claw up, certain the trickster had been properly punished. The kitsune righted himself with Inu Yasha's help and rubbed the sore spot on his back which now mirrored the pain in his head.

"Kami, your manners are just as bad as his!" She huffed as she motioned at the slightly-less-irritated hanyou.

The butt of the conversation grumbled and crossed his arms as well. Inu Yasha wondered to himself what he did that caused him to endure such trials. Of course, he somehow forgot that he had done his share of troublemaking and quite possibly deserved to have a little fun poked in his direction once in a while.

Kagome suddenly realized how quiet the hallway had been for the ruckus the two had caused, "Hey Shippo, where is everyone? I thought this was the time to meet."

His sly smile told her everything she needed to know but Inu Yasha could not see the look with his back turned to the group. "Answer her, fox."

Without hesitation he replied, "Well actually I gave you a different time than I gave everyone else. I figured he'd be out for blood but I just couldn't resist. You guys are about an hour early." The fox demon took a moment to check his expensive-looking watch, "Mm… should change back."

With a comical poof he returned to his version of a generic Japanese businessman. Inu Yasha, who had turned around at some point during the conversation, noticed something unusual.

"Wait, you didn't have to use a leaf to change? What the hell?"

Shippo laughed, "No, not any more. My kin still have to though. It comes with time and practice. I only did it the old way for old times' sake."

"…So fucking hungry…" The hanyou complained to no one in particular.

The thought of food had been enough to make him hungry, now that he knew he still had to wait another thirty minutes he was in an even worse mood than before. He knew the kitsune could still hear him and apparently came prepared.

"Oh come now, did you really think I would leave you two love birds hanging?" He chided.

The dog demon made a gesture that implied that he did indeed believe that the mischievous fox would do such a thing. Kagome appeared to know better. It amazed both men how much trust she put into her friends. Inu Yasha wondered for a moment if time might cause her to lose that smile in the future. The kitsune knew better, though. The hanyou's tried and true ability to always protect her in some way had protected her faith. He knew, however, that he could not reassure him with that knowledge without possibly ruining their future. Long ago he had learned that the problem with certainty is that it often made people soft—and vulnerable.

Just as Shippo was about to lead them to a dining area prepared for just the three of them the elevator pinged in the distance. As soon as the door opened Inu Yasha was snarling and the kitsune was smacking his hand against his forehead. Kagome wondered what had gotten the half demon in such a tizzy so she turned towards the figure exiting the elevator.

He was not quite as tall as the hanyou with short brown hair that had been carefully styled. Deep brown eyes regarded the hanyou with a raised brow and a haughty smirk. The hanyou had stepped in front of the miko during that time and continued to growl at the man. She wondered what his problem was until the man raised a hand to brush stray brown hairs from his pointed ears. Pointed ears? Kagome gasped as realization dawned on her. Inu Yasha rumbled out one name:

"Kouga."

"—But, how? Where are your shards?" The miko interrupted, staring at his legs.

She had not sensed a thing, not even the faint whisper of the shard Shippo carried in his neck. Kouga had not bothered to use one of Shippo's inventions to hide his tell-tale demonic markers. Although, seeing him now, she could see how the wolf demon could get away without one. Still, it was a risk. His hands were deadly claws and were not well-hidden even with the fine leather gloved he wore over them. The tips had begun to break their surface, even though the gloves looked brand new. Kagome took a moment to look him over. He was clad in a fine dark blue silk suit which had clearly been tailor-made to his toned frame and held an expensive-looking black leather briefcase. Apparently, Kouga had done well for himself in the future.

"What do you mean? I haven't had my shards since—" The wolf demon was cut off by Shippo's nervous cough.

"*Ahem,* ah Kouga, I suppose you're here because you've lost your bead again?"

The wolf youkai raised an eyebrow and walked towards the three, his eyes trained on the miko even as he spoke.

"As a matter, of fact, yes I am. A greenhorn grabbed a crab pot the wrong way and it slipped out of his hands and ended up hitting me. I tripped into an open hatch and lost that pebble when I hit the rim and cut the back of my head open."

Shippo shook his head and chuckled, "You're lucky it's just you and your pack out there on that ship."

"Well if it wasn't for that television show going on I wouldn't be bothering with these trinkets. If there's a chance some idiot will catch footage of one of us youkai out there then I'd rather wear them than take the risk. It costs too much to buy up all that footage." He replied.

Shippo took the briefcase without checking the contents; the weight of the case told him all he needed to know. "You need just one bead? Wow, you guys are doing a lot better than last year. I'll send Shiro to your room in a few hours; I assume you're taking the same one as last time?"

Kouga nodded and then sniffed the air; his brow furrowed momentarily. His face blossomed into a sardonic grin. "No wonder you're cranky, dog shit. You marked her and didn't even get laid? If she had picked me I would have been sure to please her before doing business."

Kagome turned ten shades of red but quickly regained her composure by ramming her foot down onto the sputtering hanyou's. She was not sure what future-Kouga was capable of or if he was still inclined to take off with her at random; but she was not about to find out—especially if he had six hundred more years worth of fighting experience.

"Well we'd better be going; I've kept these two waiting for dinner for some time now. I'd be an awful host if I did not see to them first. My son will see to you soon, good bye!" The kitsune broke in.

Seeing her distress, Shippo had taken Kagome's hand and led her away down the hall, forcing the protective hanyou to follow, still snarling. Kouga blinked and waved with a mildly perplexed look on his visage.

-*-

Questions had been aching to be raised in the young couples' minds as the three ate dinner in a private dining area used for VIP's of the hotel. Kagome wanted to ask a good many questions but her fear of altering their future in some way kept her silent. Initially the miko had been hopeful that the hanyou would not inquire but that only lasted until his hunger had been sated. Inu Yasha had no qualms with demanding answers.

"Shippo, why do you associate with that wimpy wolf?"

The kitsune chewed thoughtfully on a piece of steak before answering with the least amount of damaging information. The look in the half demon's golden eyes told him that if he did not give him something that he would be secretly attacked later. Inu Yasha had bullied more than a few private conversations out of him as a kit; and only when he was concerned Kagome was hiding some secret (being sick, for example) that he was convinced might harm her later unless he learned the truth quietly.

As a demon child, Shippo had been privy to many discussions between Sango and the miko while they had assumed he napped on her lap. For many years, especially as a young teen with raging hormones, he had feigned sleep to listen in on their girl talk to find out if Kagome ever spoke of him. Shippo had harbored a secret crush on the miko for most of his younger years. When he outgrew curling up in her lap the kitsune was allowed to sleep with his head on her thigh.

It was a position the dog demon had envied and complained about for a short time until he realized how much Shippo heard. The thought made the kitsune grin inwardly. The hanyou was far cleverer than his friends often gave him credit for. Kagome was the only one who always knew better. Only now did he wonder if the miko had known all along about their secret agreement and had allowed the boy to nap so that he might come to understand that she would never be his. He would not have put it past her.

Whether she knew or not; it was his eavesdropping that finally cemented into his mind that his beloved miko was never going to fall for the fox demon. Sure, they had tittered on a couple different occasions about how cute of a young man Shippo had become. However, most of the talks had focused on their complaints, concerns, and gushes over the loves of their lives.

The pivotal moment that the fox demon had overheard and had ended his amorous affections for the pretty miko had also granted a new role for Kagome. The conversation began as they normally did between the two close friends. Sango complained about her naughty children and libidinous husband while Kagome griped about the latest of Inu Yasha's sit-able offenses. Eventually their meandering conversation led to a discussion about a young woman in the village who secretly had a crush on Shippo. Kagome confessed that she had been more than a little stand-offish with the girl because of her notoriety around town as a heartbreaker. Initially the fox demon was elated and hoped that perhaps the miko had been jealous. His infatuation was dashed though when she followed up her thoughts.

"I worry about him. I know that eventually he'll find a sweet girl but I still can't help but want to protect him from getting his heart broken. I hope I don't worry him to death."

The two had laughed and went on to discuss what girl in the village might be his best match. The kitsune realized then that she loved him like a parent loves and defends a child. Afterwards Shippo had come to Kagome privately and asked if he could call her mom. No one could replace his birth mother but the miko came as close as it got and he certainly needed one.

"Oi, fox, answer me!" Inu Yasha's voice broke through his reverie.

"Huh?" He blinked and turned his blue eyes towards the voice. "Oh right, you want to know why I talk to Kouga. Well, I'll tell you this much: He's settled down with his pack in another country. He only comes out here to buy some of those beads to keep his crew looking human. His job is rather rough on them."

"Rough?" Kagome spoke up.

"Yeah, for the moment he's a fisherman in Alaska. There aren't a whole lot of humans up there to worry about."

All demonic professions seemed momentary to the kitsune. Though they might work for twenty years at a job; in the span of six hundred years each career seemed like some part time dream. Many demons had populated their staff with other youkai so that they maintained the same occupation for hundreds of years without humans around who might care that their boss always remained youthful. Those in working-class professions often had to change jobs rapidly or change their looks and reapply under a different name to continue the same one if the company was majority human. Still others had formed alliances with some humans who knew their secret, though such was a rarity. Most stayed with their own to avoid the hassle.

Inu Yasha looked non-plussed by the information but Kagome's nod was enough to tell him that it was true. The waiters came then and cleared their table of food. Shippo needed to get around to calling Shiro. He wished the new couple a good night, Kagome gave him a quick hug, and they headed back to their respective rooms.

-*-

Back in their room the miko was forced to answer questions about why Kouga needed a 'pod' for fishing and what the hell Alaska was. She did not want to dwell too heavily on any of the information for fear Inu Yasha or she might make connections between the future wolf-demon and the one from the past. It seemed that their break had been very risky. At the same time their chance meetings had seemed inevitable. She wondered if their fairy tale romance had been coincidence or serendipity. If Shippo's future had been altered, would he have even known?


	17. The End

-*-

I'm pretty certain after this story that I'm going to write a new story about everything that happened to Kagome and Inu Yasha after the end of the manga. I think just about everyone I talked to agrees that the ending gave us a whole lot of nothing. We learned more about Sango and Miroku than Inu Yasha and Kagome, for crying out loud! I'm also a bit of a history dork so it'd be fun to research Japanese history.

Oh and I loved "When She Comes Back" it was brilliant! Thank you, Little White Kitsune!

I'm making this my tentative last chapter for two reasons. First, the school semester starts in a few weeks and I can't promise I'll have any time to write. That said, there's not much in the way of job prospects for an art major so once I'm all set and graduated in December (if everything goes according to plan) then I might just have the spare time needed to write some more. This leads to my second point: I want to wrap this story up so I can start creating a true "epilogue" to the Inu Yasha manga.

I will try very hard to write and get some updates for "Cats and Dogs" during the school year to tide people over. Or, if I'm feeling especially inspired I'll try and pen down a first chapter to that new story. We'll see. I tend to suffer from total artistic burnout during the school year so I can't make any promises about where my head will be.

I have one more question to my readers. What anime/video game/manga are you dying to see a fan fiction for besides Inu Yasha?

-*-

The previous night had been spent in deep discussion. Upon reuniting with Kouga and subsequently parting the two had decided to have a long conversation about the future. The miko learned then that Inu Yasha no longer wanted to use the Shikon jewel to become a full demon. When he had thought he had killed her the last time he had transformed had been a wake up call for him. The thought of a world without his gentle companion in it had been enough to scare him out of ever wanting to live that way permanently.

He had also asked her what time period she would like to live in. In the hanyou's usual frank manner he had told her that he would prefer to remain in his time. He knew it was dangerous but after the attack with the guns he was also convinced that her future was just as bad. Unfortunately, it had also made him more wary of her time period than ever. He feared for her safety when he was not around to protect her and imagined thugs lurking around every corner on her trek to and from school.

Kagome had tried to explain to him the differences in safety between the suburbs and the city but there was no convincing the half demon. Eventually, she gave up. When she did the hanyou conceded that regardless of what he thought that the decision to choose a time period was in her hands—she should know though, that he did not have to like it.

What he did not tell her was that secretly he could learn to live (and like) anywhere, as long as it was with her. Although, the idea that Kagome might be gone for hours at a time while he languished somewhere else was not appealing to him in the slightest. He assumed correctly that her time period was a busy one and that he would have to do without her for long periods of time.

The miko had to admit that it was very likely that he would have to give up a lot in order for him to live in her time. While she would miss the conveniences of home she wondered if she really did need them. School seemed so frivolous when she was out saving the world in the Sengoku Period.

Their conversation continued until late into the night. Kagome was unsure if she could live without her family but at the same time did not want to abandon her friends. Inu Yasha's steadfast loyalty to his friends—along with her own—made it all the more difficult to let go of a life in the past.

Eventually the hanyou grew tired of the circular conversation and forced them to call it a night. The talk had caused him to think about something he had not considered at all and now he needed to sleep on it. Talking to the miko any further would only serve to irritate him more.

-*-

The sound of rain pelting the bedroom window roused Inu Yasha from his slumber. He woke to find the raven-haired girl sleeping beside him. She was curled up on her side, facing him. Her fingers were tucked into small fists under her chin. The look on her face was so peaceful it made him marvel. It was a wonder to him how she could agonize over her future just hours ago yet sleep so soundly the next while he could be disturbed by raindrops on a windowpane. She even wore the faintest hint of a smile on her lips. It was as if she never worried at all.

The thought caused a smile to form. She brought him the strangest, noisiest peace to his heart. When she was awake and staring at him she could bring a rush of emotions to his brain. If they bickered, his thoughts were wild, angry and just a touch entertained. When she cried his mind shut down. He needed to comfort her, but he was never sure if he was saying the right thing, so normally he would stay silent and wait for her to come to him. Still other times she would simply stare, and he felt peace attack his heart. His demonic blood fought to see peace as a sign of control or dominance, while his humanity told him that for once he could rest in solace under her gaze. That was why even the calm feelings she imbued brought his mind so much chaos.

His peace was short-lived. As he pondered his love for the mortal woman his thoughts from the previous night dropped him in cold water. When the jewel fragments were reunited, would Kagome be allowed to choose a time period? They had discussed the pros and cons of each world all night long, but in the end, would the jewel decide for them?

He shifted in bed as one of his elbows grew sore from leaning on it. The miko made a soft sound and her features drew into an unconsciously displeased look. The hanyou was disturbing her so he thought it better to continue his dark thoughts in the living area. As stealthily as a ninja the dog demon slid off the bed and padded into the adjoining room. The gloom of the rain was not lost on him and so he moved closer to the window to gaze at the view.

The more he thought on it the more he realized that the jewel might return his beloved back to her time—alone. She was an anomaly in their world, was she not? The jewel might recognize that she did not belong and send her back. For the first time since he had thought Kagome had been swallowed in fire with Shippo way back when Inu Yasha once more entertained the thought that he might forever lose her. What would he do?

"What would I do?" He spoke to the window out loud.

The dark thoughts and the intense fear of abandonment spiked through him, forcing him to voice his fears to no one. The hanyou often spoke to himself when he was alone. After years of living alone before he had stumbled onto Kikyo's village he had exercised the habit frequently. It helped him to concentrate his mind and filter out the erratic thoughts that weakened him before battle.

He had once thought that he could not live without Kikyo. That feeling had obviously proven false. It seemed, perhaps, that he was more patient that he had originally thought. The demon smirked.

"I might be more patient now, but could I wait for her alone for a thousand years?"

The answer came just as quickly. Could he wait alone? No. Even immortal demons go mad if left alone.

"When did I decide I would be alone?" He asked the rain, knowing his old self would have answered that he needed no one. Inu Yasha knew better now. He would have been nothing but a second-rate half demon—possibly dead already—had it not been for the friends and the intelligent miko. They had helped him discover the Tetsusaiga and later unleash its' hidden powers.

A low chuckle escaped his lips. "I wouldn't be alone. Someone has to watch over that lecher and his kin. Sango's family would need protecting and Shippo, too."

Protecting a human family would be a full-time job alone. Adding Shippo to the mix only made his role that much more time-consuming. He sighed when he thought of kitsune pup. If Kagome was forced to return to the future then she would have inadvertently abandoned Shippo as well. He had already lost both his parents. Inu Yasha knew all too well how tough the world could be without them and could only imagine how hard it might be to lose yet another mother figure. Yes, the hanyou would definitely have to keep an extra-vigilant eye on that one.

Inu Yasha took in a deep breath before announcing his oath to the gray sky. "Kagome, for you and my friends, I would wait a thousand years."

"Well, more like six hundred years, give or take."

The soft voice startled him from his thoughts. He had been completely unaware of her presence in the doorway to the bedroom. It was a mystery to him how long she had stood there; watching and listening to him speak to himself like a demon gone mad.

She stepped up to the startled hanyou who tried to explain that he was not crazy. She laughed and shook her head as she slipped her arms around his waist and tilted her head into his chest.

"It's okay. I do that too sometimes."

The miko had heard enough of his self-held conversation to grasp that he was worrying about the future. She too, had been concerned about that as well. The impact of what her absence might mean on Sango, Miroku, and Shippo had not entered her mind much in the discussion of living in the present. Now that she thought of it she recognized that she could not give them up for a few luxuries in the present. As long as she had the choice she would stay in the past.

"Inu Yasha, it might not happen that way."

"We don't know that for certain… but I want you to know if it did happen. If you were returned to your time and I was left in mine I would find you. You have my word."

Her gentle squeeze was her non-verbal way of telling him that she understood. The miko did not want to say it aloud for fear that fate might conspire to let it come true. Fingers brushed her cheek ever so gently and then cupped it. Her face was drawn to his as Inu Yasha used a kiss to seal his word as bond with the miko.

-*-

"Welcome back!" Sango announced as the couple emerged from the well, on schedule for once since the dog-demon had been the one to insist they get back on time.

Kagome had learned that his urging to return to the past had been grounded in the fear that the village could be attacked in their absence. Reluctantly, she agreed to go back, though she could have stayed a few more days.

"Meet any pretty ladies?" Miroku queried.

"You mean any women that would bear the children of a lecherous monk from antiquity? Nope, can't say that I did." came the hanyou's terse reply.

"You wound me with your harsh words. Kagome would not treat me so."

The houshi put on his most mortified face for the miko, who seemed even less impressed. Sango smacked the man upside the head for his impertinence. Kagome rolled her eyes. Only slightly fazed by the hit the priest quickly recovered and asked anew.

"So what did you do while you were out? You were gone a long time."

The two blushed and looked away from one another. Just as they did so a villager appeared in the distance. Inu Yasha caught sight of him first and took off muttering something about new fragment rumors. Kagome, too, quickly followed suit, mumbling something about needing to make sure the hanyou did not scare the poor man. Sango and Miroku were left in the dust. They exchanged knowing grins before they dashed off to catch up.

-*-The End-*-


End file.
